Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake
January 12, 2010 4:53 p.m.
Commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake
January 12, 2010 4:53 p.m.
On January 12, 2010, Haiti endured the worst natural disaster to strike the western hemisphere – a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit less than 15 miles southwest of Haiti's capital, Port au Prince, at 4:53 p.m. This massive quake killed an estimated 230,000 people, injured more than 300,000 and left 1.6 million homeless.
In two-and-a-half days, a hospital of 73 beds and two operating rooms was transformed into a medical center with 400 beds and six operating rooms. Overnight, 50 people who had never met before worked together as a coordinated unit to save lives and treat countless wounded. They worked tirelessly through days that turned into weeks, then months and years, helping those who lost limbs, were disfigured and suffered life-threatening injuries and conditions. A look back
Despite natural disasters, environmental threats, social and political unrest, and economic turmoil, Hôpital Sacré Coeur's medical care and reputation continued to grow and thrive, thanks to its dedicated staff, volunteers, and philanthropic supporters.
Today, the campus hosts an impressive outpatient clinic, surgery suites, an emergency department, and one of the first pathology labs in the region. It also invested in upgrades to its pharmacy and radiology department, plus other units and critical services.
The Haitian people have no other source of health care in the northern part of the country. In 2019, Hôpital Sacré Coeur alone handled 75,000 outpatient visits, nearly 8,000 inpatient admissions, and 7,500 emergency visits, performed about 2,800 surgeries, delivered more than 2,000 newborns, ran over 165,000 diagnostic tests, and filled 285,000 prescriptions.
For more than 30 years, Holy Name Medical Center staff members have volunteered at Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti and offered invaluable resources and unconditional passion to the mission. After the earthquake, their desire for the improved health of the people of Haiti only grew stronger and deeper. As a result, in 2012 Holy Name acquired The CRUDEM Foundation, a 501 c 3 non-profit founded in 1995 that is devoted to providing financial, volunteer and medical resources to Hôpital Sacré Coeur.
Today, The CRUDEM Foundation functions under Holy Name's umbrella of exceptional healthcare facilities and programs. It is what keeps the staff at Hôpital Sacré Coeur able to continue providing desperately needed healthcare to people with indomitable spirits in a poverty-stricken nation.
As the threat of starvation encompasses a wider swath of the population and healthcare needs continue to multiply, Hôpital Sacré Coeur is expanding, both physically and in the services it provides.
In the immediate future, a new Women and Children's Center will be created, as well as the implementation of a new direct meal program. Investments are also being made into new technology and equipment that will allow for robotic surgery options. Physical improvements are scheduled for the following: