How Holy Name is providing healing — and hope — in Haiti

Holy Name CEO Mike Maron was honest: He said he wasn’t quite sure what he was going to find when he made a trip in late July to Hopital Sacre Coeur, the hospital in Northern Haiti that Holy Name has run since shortly after the devastating 7.2 earthquake hit the island in 2010.

This was Maron’s first trip to Haiti in a year. His visits, which used to come every six weeks to two months, had become less frequent. Massive political upheaval in a country — even one with a tradition of it — can do that.

Maron was stunned by what he saw when he arrived.

“The overall appearance, the maintenance of the grounds, the upkeep of the machines, was fantastic,” he said. “Everything was still working. They didn’t let anything slip.

“I told them, ‘You’re well on your way to being self-sustaining. You cleared a hurdle. You now realize the importance of keeping the place up, so we can provide the services that the community needs.”

The visit was proof that Holy Name’s promise of a commitment to the hospital — led by Maron in the months after the quake — was worth the effort and expense.

To be sure, the hospital’s location (it’s approximately 120 miles from the more volatile capital of Port-au-Prince) combined with the fact that locals understand it is the major economic engine of Cap-Haitien (the island country’s second-largest city), always has provided some sense of stability to the area.

Of course, in Haiti, upheaval always is a moment away, Maron said.

“Everything was as normal as it’s ever been,” he said. “That said, and this is par for the course over the last 14 years that I’ve been going there, there’s always underlying tension. There’s always uncertainty.”

There are always great challenges. They were apparent, too.

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Maron will go to great lengths to praise the work ethic of the local community. He never has trouble finding people to fill the hundreds of operational and maintenance positions needed at the hospital.

Having enough top doctors and nurses and high-level technicians is another matter.

The hospital can find personnel — it just struggles to keep them. Too many leave for more stability outside of the country.

“One of our biggest problems right now — and it was so very evident when I got there — is the talent drain out of the country,” he said. “It has been devastating. We’re constantly searching for and recruiting new people.”

Since so many Haitian health care professionals have left the island, the hospital has turned to another nearby source of talent: Cuba.

“For Cubans, Northern Haiti is a better environment than Cuba itself,” Maron said. “We’ve managed to backfill some critical areas — not all, but many — with very talented doctors and nurses and technicians and engineers. That’s great.

“Cubans, however, are not a long-term solution. They’ll give us three to five years of time, but, eventually, they want to move on. They use Haiti as a springboard to another Caribbean island.”

The shortage of talent goes to volunteers, too.

Maron said the hospital used to get thousands of volunteers from the U.S. over the course of the year. He saw that had dropped dramatically, too.

“They used to be here 52 weeks a year, now it’s down to just a few times,” he said.

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The word “catastrophic” may not be enough to describe the damage done to Haiti after the 7.2 earthquake hit the island on Jan. 12, 2010.

Poor infrastructure — both in construction and government services — made the impact far greater than it would have been had it taken place in other countries. The numbers will never be certain, but most estimates say approximately 150,000 people lost their lives and 250,000 residences were destroyed.

The international community acted quickly, raising more than $50 million in the initial 24 hours.

But, as always is the case, international attention — and the dollars that come with it — eventually moved elsewhere.

Maron and Holy Name, which were quick to offer assistance, stayed — and took over operations of the hospital shortly thereafter.

More than a decade later, the efforts to provide care go hand-and-hand with efforts to raise money. Or, as Maron puts it, raise awareness.

“Our biggest effort is to make people aware that Haiti is still there — and still struggling,” he said.

Holy Name started the Haiti Health Promise Foundation, which does pack-a-thons in an effort to increase its donor base — while supplying food, something that still is in short supply.

The group travels around the country. Maron rattles off Seattle, St. Louis and Jacksonville, Florida, as spots for recent pack-a-thons.

“It brings awareness while making people feel that they are making an impact,” he said.

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There are approximately 75,000 Haitians living in New Jersey. Another 150,000 live in New York City — the second-largest population in the country after Miami.

The large numbers, however, do not necessarily bring large support.

Maron said there is a cultural divide. Those trying to rebuild Haiti in Haiti feel the ex-pats have abandoned the cause. There’s tension between the groups.

As for federal assistance, Maron said Holy Name is about to lose its biggest supporter: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who is expected to resign Aug. 20.

“Bob was very good to us and very supportive,” Maron said. “Anytime I needed an intro somewhere — whether it was the State Department or (the U.S. Agency for International Development) — Bob would make a call, tell the people it was important, and they’d call me right back.

“Losing him will be another part of the brain drain.”

Maron is not deterred, he said.

The search for more assistance will continue, he said.

“We’re eager to talk to anyone or any organization,” he said.

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Maron said he had no idea what Holy Name was getting into back in 2010.

“When we first got involved 14 years ago, it was all based on a handshake and a promise — there was no legal agreement between us and them,” he said. “I went there with some of our docs, and we made a verbal promise to help.”

It’s a promise Maron and Holy Name have kept to this day — one he brought up on his most recent trip.

“I told them, ‘I know you guys thought I’d disappeared because you hadn’t seen me in a while.

“I promised you I wasn’t going to abandon you, and that promise is still valid. We’re here. We’re supporting you — through all the challenges and through all the difficulties.’”

Maron said it’s all been worth it.

“It is still the most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere, but the hospital today, and the community today, is significantly better than it was in 2010,” he said. “For all of the challenges, it has brought positive rewards many times over.”