Health for all: a surgical model in Haiti

The need for health services, healthpower, and university participation is evident in Haiti, West Indies. The Hospital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti has a reputation for quality health care and a large volume of tropical disease that is worth experiencing. Health volunteers and university personnel are treated well and receive room and board in pleasant houses on the hospital complex. One becomes involved quite quickly in the active practice of medicine at the hospital and the necessity to read is facilitated by an excellent library. Reaching out to others and helping them achieve healthier lives is a direct form of hope for the future of the world. One can see that this makes a difference in one's own lifetime. To promote health for all it is important to promote changes in university training and research objectives that include interest in and concern for the scientific and educational problems associated with health for all. The Hospital Albert Schweitzer has always had these concerns and universities such as Yale have sent their surgical residents for one- to three-month rotations as part of their surgical training program. The residents are supervised by a board-certified general surgeon. Medical universities that participate in the global strategy of health for all could be allocated a greater number of residency training positions. To inquire further about the Hospital Albert Schweitzer write to Dr. Michel Jean-Baptiste, Medical Director, Hospital Albert Schweitzer, P.O.B. 1744, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, West Indies.