S E RV I C E
Project launched its first mobile clinic. Today, direct health care services are provided at 30 sites led by teams of all-Haitian physicians, nurses, and support staff. The clinics serve nearly 40,000 people with an average of more than 165 patients at each clinic every year, according to the organization’s website. The Haiti Medical Project is supervised largely by volun-
Working for a Healthier
teers in the United States and in Haiti with a few paid staff
HAITI
er for it. Dr. Ullom-Minnich occasionally goes to Haiti, not
The work Dr. Paul Ullom-Minnich ‘89 has done in Haiti for nearly a decade came full circle this summer when he returned there with a group of people to tour the country and look at what its needs are today.
positions in Haiti. Dr. Ullom-Minnich is a volunteer with the title of consultant to the executive and convener of the Haitian Medical Project Coordinating Committee. His father, Dale, also joined the effort and is a leading fundraisas much now as he did in the beginning, and he says that his assistance is not as much medical as it is organizational. “There are all sorts of challenges in Haiti medically that I am not good at, but I am good at organization and providing an outside medical viewpoint,” he said. “The Haitian physicians and nurses are all trained there and much better at dealing with the medical challenges there than I am.” After the natural disaster in 2010, many organizations from around the world arrived to offer aid to Haiti. Many were strictly there to provide temporary relief while others stayed on. Dr. Ullom-Minnich thinks that the connections made with Haitian communities is what sets the Haiti Medical Project apart from some of the other aid organizations. “I think it is different because what we do is driven by the local needs,” he said. “The community looks at what the needs are and comes up with the ideas to meet those
He first traveled to Haiti with other physicians and
needs.”
counselors in 2010 after a devastating earthquake left
Additionally, The Haiti Medical Project fosters the Haitian
much of the country in ruin. He spent a week traveling
economy by buying its supplies locally and hiring its medi-
around the country providing medical assistance in make-
cal staff locally, Dr. Ullom-Minnich said.
shift clinics. His experience there led to further discussions
“Two-thirds of Haitians do not have full-time jobs,” he
about what could be done to continue assisting a country
said. “That includes doctors and nurses, so it’s not hard to
with tremendous needs.
staff our clinics. It’s a model that is meant to improve Haiti
“It really started as a grassroots effort,” Dr. Ullom-Minnich
beyond its medical needs.”
said. “It involved a lot of different people across the country
Working with the communities that have clinics, it
working together to make it happen. It’s really blown into
became apparent that preventive measures could greatly
something so much larger now. It’s more of a public health
increase the wellness of a community. Clean water is the
effort than a medical response effort.”
number one issue affecting community health.
He brought the idea to the Church of the Brethren,
“A medical condition is usually the end of the road,” Dr.
which was supportive as long as he could find funding.
Ullom-Minnich said. “There are lots of things that lead up
Over the next year, the idea evolved and the Haiti Medical
to a medical problem, and clean water is probably the
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review
MCPHERSON COLLEGE MAGAZINE
