Services
Currently 6000 outpatients are being consulted and treated monthly in the outpatient clinic. Nurse practitioners help alongside doctors to screen, diagnose and treat patients. Emergency cases are admitted day or night with a doctor on call at all times. Normal routine cases include malaria, typhoid, intestinal parasites, kwashiorkor (protein malnutrition), avitaminosis, respiratory infection, thyroid, syphilis and other venereal diseases. Skin disorders and eye infections are common with occasional cases of filariasis. Most persons coming for medical help can be treated as outpatients with only those requiring special attention to be hospitalized.
Special separate clinics are held for diabetic, tuberculosis and chronic heart failure patients coming in for routine review. More than 1,200 TB cases are treated monthly with more than 150 diabetics coming daily for monitoring and insulin shots. Small surgery is performed in the clinic for minor fractures and cuts resulting from accidents and fights. A separate surgery unit with two operating rooms and 20 beds handles all the larger emergencies year round. Surgical teams come to Limbe on a timely rotation basis to accomplish elective surgery and any emergencies that arise while they are there. Some 500 babies are born per year in the Maternity. HBS has about 1000 yearly admissions to pediatrics with about half that number in the adult wards.
Language
French and Creole (patois) are the official languages. Persons who speak and understand English or Spanish translators are on staff.
Staff
HBS has eight doctors working full time in Limbe. Specialists include OB/GYN, Pediatrics and Internal Medicine Board Certified. While the majority of the staff is from the Limbé area and number some 150 Haitian employees, the administrative and professional medical personnel consist of persons of different areas and various nationalities including Haitian. Short and long term volunteers are absolutely essential to the daily operations of HBS and are utilized where they can be most effective. These persons work alongside regular staff and carry out necessary assignments as required by the institution.
If you would like to volunteer, or find out more on how to help, please visit the volunteer information page.