When Grace Children’s Hospital first started in 1967, it was as a small Tuberculosis clinic in Haiti with a goal of treating and healing 100 children. Now in its 50th year, the hospital is celebrating the accomplishments of treating not 100 children, but well more than 100,000 children, while also educating the public about how the battle against Tuberculosis is not over.
ICC Haiti's National Director Dr. Bijou with Grace's new ambassador, Haitian musician Jean Jean Roosevelt.
On March 31, Grace Children’s Hospital staff and experts hosted a scientific day, inviting important members of the community as well as supporters and a news crew. As part of the festivities, well-known Haitian musician Jean Jean Roosevelt signed a contract to be an ambassador for Grace Children’s Hospital! The hospital staff is excited about the potential attention this can bring to the hospital in Haiti.
But before getting to business, the hospital hosted a special memorial service to honor the staff and children lost in the earthquake of 2010. Two pastors blessed the memorial and led the group in song and prayer.
Then, the group headed to the new conference room for presentations about various forms of Tuberculosis—in the bone, in the eye, etc—and got to view the premiere of a Tuberculosis documentary that the hospital collaborated on. Throughout the country, Grace Children's Hospital and ICC are trusted sources for Tuberculosis treatment and have been named by the Haitian government as a public utility, a great honor.
“Old forms of Tuberculosis are starting to show up again,” said Dr. Bijou, National Director of ICC Haiti. “We are discussing cases with the doctors. But we want to stick with the World Tuberculosis goal to decrease the amount by 90% by 2030 and eliminate it by 2050.”
In this 50th year, we celebrate all the goals that Grace Children’s Hospital has been able to accomplish through your incredible support. Will you help Grace Children’s Hospital ensure another 50 years of medicine, life, and hope—and support their part in the world effort to eliminate Tuberculosis?