Health Equity International
St. Boniface Hospital’s Maternal and Neonatal Health (MNH) Center officially opened in spring 2015. Moving from a single delivery room to the bright, airy, 14,000 square foot MNH Center was a welcome and much-needed transition for SBHF’s OB/GYN staff. Two and a half years later, the MNH Center sees 3,300 deliveries annually. The Center also includes southern Haiti’s only fully functional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which serves the region’s 2.3 million people.
More than 800 babies receive care in the NICU annually, including babies born months prematurely, babies with respiratory issues, and babies who have contracted infections from their mothers. As the facility’s Head Nurse, Rose Pascale Paul (known as Miss Pascale to her colleagues and patients) spends every day caring for perhaps the most vulnerable population in Haiti - babies who need intensive care for their very survival. “I never tire of providing care,” she says, “so that mothers can experience the joy of holding a healthy baby again.” Miss Pascale leads a staff of 13 nurses, keeping them focused on the goal of providing excellent care in a loving and compassionate environment.
In a country where the infant mortality rate is nearly 6% - the highest in the western hemisphere - Miss Pascale and her team do everything they can to make sure that parents go home with healthy babies. “I love babies very much,” Miss Pascale says. “The nurses here really care about children, just like I do. So they’re careful with everything they do.” Miss Pascale recently led an initiative that reduced neonatal mortality at the hospital by nearly two thirds in a matter of weeks through improved hygiene practices, timely administration of antibiotics, and clinical training for staff on the use of infant warmers. Throughout the MNH Center, and across St. Boniface Hospital, staff are continually striving to provide the people of southern Haiti with the care they need to live healthy, productive lives.
