The Hopital Adventiste d' Haiti was host to some very distinguished quests today. Both the U.S. and French ambassadors to Haiti visited our hospital. Ambassador Kenneth Merten of the United States and Ambassador Didier Le Bret of France arrived shortly after 10 AM. They were both very approachable men and seemed keenly interested in hearing from the people here at HAH. There was a clear theme during their visit, that the collaborative efforts between the French triage team and the American surgical teams has been a wonderful and successful partnership.
Ambassador Merten and I had a number of opportunities to talk as we toured the hospital facility. He expressed his gratitude to all of the volunteer groups here at HAH but especially to Loma Linda University and Adventist Health International for their strategic and long standing relationship with HAH. He indicated that prior to his visit he was already aware of our involvement here and was quite surprised at the success and organization that has been achieved in the two weeks since the disaster. He shared asked if there was anything he could do for us here and offered his direct contact information to facilitate such requests. I've already made contact with him and received back a personalized response and am hopeful that he will help to fulfill some of our critical needs.
Of course along with diplomats come the media. There were multiple film crews and reporters here during the Ambassadors visit today including a crew from The Hope Channel. The Hope Channel crew interviewed both ambassadors, Dr. Chris Jobe, Dr. Honore, Dr. Archer, one of our surgical nurses and myself. The segment should air either Wed. 1/27 at 11:00AM EST or the following Wednesday at the same time. Later in the day I was contacted by a San Bernardino Sun reporter wanting to interview myself and one of the LLU surgeons. So for those of you in the Inland Empire, keep your eyes peeled for an interview with Dr. Jobe and yours truly.
L - R Dr. Lesly Archer, Andrew Haglund, U.S. Ambassador Merten, U.S. Secret Service, French Ambassador Le Bret, Dr. Ely Honore
Front Row L - R Dr. Lesly Archer, U.S. Ambassador Merten, Mrs. Emilie Clotaire, Dr. Patrick (head of the French triage team), French Ambassador Le Bret
Dr. Jobe shocks Ambassador Le Bret when he tells him we have teams headed this way for weeks to come.
The Hope Channel interviews Dr. Archer in the Maternal and Child Health clinic.
Press:
Thank you so much for your updatesT The Ryan family here in Naples, FL knows Dr. Nelson. We've followed your efforts and would like to also mention the strong presence of the ACTS World Relief team led by David Canther. I'm so proud of ALL those involved at HAH! Thank you so much!
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