Loma Linda University (LLU) has launched a program in Haiti dealing with one of the country’s most glaring needs, the rehabilitation treatment for the disabled. The program is one of the first of its kind in the country. 16 Haitians are now studying for a certificate that will allow them to serve as rehab technicians. After they graduate in February 2013, they will help their neighbors regain physical functionality that was lost in the 2010 earthquake or through other circumstances.

The certificate program is based at a sister university and hospital to Loma Linda University and Medical Center— Universite Adventiste d’Haiti and Hopital Adventiste d’Haiti in Carrefour, outside Port-au-Prince. The program is designed to fill a major gap in the country’s medical infrastructure, which includes only a few physical therapists and currently lacks occupational therapists.

To date, many people have had to rely on international workers for rehabilitation services "we hope is that more Haitians will be rehabilitated; But we’re also hoping that this will instill the idea that further rehab education is needed. Eventually a bachelor’s degree program in occupational therapy and physical therapy needs to be developed in Haiti," declared Heather Thomas, PhD, co-director of the program and associate professor of occupational therapy at LLU.

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The university’s relationship with Haiti dates back to Hopital Adventiste’s affiliation, beginning in 2001, with Adventist Health International—a nonprofit based at LLU that partners with health care facilities in developing countries to improve services. Loma Linda University has helped coordinate approximately 2,000 volunteers who have served working with either the hospital or Adventist university in Haiti. LLU has also helped to stabilize hospital operations, upgrade services such as orthopedic surgery, improve facilities such as the laboratory and operating rooms, and install critical infrastructure systems such as reliable power and a purified water system.

HL/ HaitiLibre