Haiti / Dominican Republic

In 2012, Jack Ladenson and Sarah Riley addressed the need for assessing blood gases on ventilated patients at the Hospital Bernard Mevs/Project Medishare in Port Au Prince - the only hospital in Haiti that was able to care for critically ill adults and pediatrics following the 2010 earthquake. Sarah and Jack, with a generous donation from Nova, developed the capacity for blood gas testing. Sarah continued to assist with installation of an automated chemistry analyzer and coagulation testing.

In 2013, Sarah initiated a PO volunteer project in Jimani Dominican Republic, which at the time had no functioning laboratory. Sarah, in collaboration with volunteer pathology residents from Washington University in St. Louis and pharmacy residents from St. Louis Children’s Hospital, worked with Dominical laboratory technologists to develop the necessary laboratory capacity. This project was made possible thanks to generous donations from Heart to Heart International and Opti Medical.

Lastly, in 2014, in collaboration with Washington University Brown School of Social Work and the faculty of Universite Publique de Nord du Cap Haitien (UPNCH), PO was instrumental in the initiation of the first Public Health degree program in Haiti.