Even before the earthquake, health care was mostly a privilege for the wealthy. Beginning in 2001, volunteers from FLM decided to take health care to the people in our communities of Thomassin, La Boule, Boutiliers, and Kenscoff, trekking up the mountainside with heavy bags of medicines and supplies. In this way, the people of those communities became familiar with our organization and looked forward to receiving health care from us.

In July 2009, we dedicated our new House of David Community Health Center. The founding of this clinic is a great milestone for FLM's ministry. Staffed by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, and dentist, the clinic not only has room to see patients, it also has rooms devoted to health education. The 2009 medical mission team put into action several new activities. A talented mission volunteer held small classes for five to seven women at a time, teaching them about hygiene and fielding questions about women's health issues.

We set up a pilot program to treat patients with high blood pressure on an ongoing basis. High blood pressure is a common and major problem in Haiti, affecting not just the elderly but also young mothers. Fifty patients were identified for an ongoing program. They are monitored on a monthly basis and receive medicines and advice for their condition. One of our doctors sees the patients every six months. Until the earthquake hit, the plan for the January 2010 trip was to invite the group to meet together to talk over concerns and treatments. This is the type of program we hope to institute for a variety of conditions.

Because of the earthquake, we have to think more about emergency care, putting on hold our plans for the January 2010 trip. For this trip we had one hundred women who wanted to come together to talk about women's hearth issues! We planned to conduct the first annual health screening of all six hundred school children. Our doctors were going to be available for consultations on difficult cases, instead of spending their time on lower-level medical care.

Our dreams have not died, they are just on hold. For Haiti to rise again, she will need strong citizens who have the knowledge to maximize their health under difficult circumstances. We will do our best to provide them with the care and knowledge they need.