According to the Midwives for Haiti organization, Haiti is the poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere. Due to geographic remoteness and socioeconomic
status, many expectant mothers in Haiti do not receive the care they require.
In fact, a skilled provider attends only about 25% of births in the country,
making Haiti a very dangerous country to give birth. Without skilled assistance,
both mothers and babies too frequently die during childbirth.
CVMC Nurse Midwife Bobbi Kimsey has volunteered with Midwives for Haiti
and traveled to the country on six trips to help educate and train midwives
there. This year Bobbi was even more excited about her trip when she seized
the opportunity to bring a special gift from CVMC Women’s and Children’s
Services to those she helped teach. She dedicated many packages of unused
4 x 4” sterile gauze sponges to a supply-challenged hospital in
the town of Hinche. The supplies were going to be discarded by CVMC when
the types of sponges purchased and used locally were changed earlier this
year. With permission to donate the sponges, Bobbi enlisted help from
the Sterile Processing staff who specially prepared the sterilized peel
packs on which they neatly marked “Midwives for Haiti”!
“The clinical staff at St. Therese Hospital in Hinche were thrilled
to receive the much-needed supplies,” said Bobbi. “I have
been so moved at how they embrace receiving advanced birthing skills that
are making a change towards saving mothers and babies lives.”
Learn more about
midwives and maternity servicesat the CVMC
Center for Women and Children, and find out how we are advancing healthy outcomes for the 2,000+ newborns
delivered at the hospital annually.