​MSN-DNP student Dominique Guillaume recently coordinated and led a global health project in Haiti in partnership with Delta Airlines and MedShare. She managed the delivery over 350 pounds of primary care supplies that were recently donated to two clinics in Haiti. MedShare is a non-profit located in Atlanta that collects medical supplies form local hospitals and donates them to hospitals and clinics in developing countries. Delta Airlines aids MedShare in their mission by helping to deliver medical supplies to the countries in need. Guillaume has partnered with MedShare for several projects in Haiti, and in January 2018 she was approached by their Vice President, Nell Diallo, to ask if she would coordinate and lead a global health trip for representatives from Delta who were interested in donating supplies to Haiti. Guillaume gladly accepted and this was the largest trip she has coordinated. In February, she and four Delta representatives, along with ten suitcases and containers full of medical supplies, embarked on a trip to Haiti.  

Guillaume has a special place in her heart for Haiti, a country where she spent a large part of her childhood.

“Haiti is a country where healthcare is viewed as a privilege rather than a basic human right and this is something I’ve always viewed as problematic,” says Guillaume. “Instead of turning a blind eye to the healthcare problem, I set my mind to do what I could to help the problem, ultimately leading me to choose nursing as my career path.”

The first clinic Guillaume and the Delta crew visited, Mosanto Petit Centre de Communitaire, is located in Laboule, a small city tucked away in the mountains surrounding Port-au-Prince. The clinic serves approximately 180,000 patients and they are the sole healthcare providers to one of the largest slums, Jalousie, in Port-au-Prince. Every service provided is free and every provider goes above and beyond to ensure that their patients receive the care that they need, even going to the patient’s homes. Upon their arrival, Dominique and crew had a meeting with the clinic directors and were given detailed information on how the clinic functions and how it is funded. Despite being low on funding and resources, healthcare providers in Laboule go out of their way to deliver care to hundreds of infants, children and pregnant women every single day.

The second clinic they visited, Centre De Santé De Cayes-Jacmel, is located approximately three hours from Port-au-Prince, in the beach city of Jacmel. This clinic provides both primary and acute care services, free of charge, throughout the entire city. While there, Guillaume spoke with the medical directors to discuss their needs and what she can do to help in the future. Jacmel is a remote city and many Haitian professionals, especially physicians, prefer to practice in bigger cities such as Port-au-Prince, so Centre De Santé De Cayes-Jacmel is run by the Cuban community. In a country where the health care infrastructure is so fragile, it becomes increasingly brittle in cities like Jacmel that significantly lack health care professionals. The Cuban staff have made it their mission to fill this gap, however it becomes extremely difficult when they lack medical supplies, medications, and basic equipment. After speaking with the medical directors, Guillaume and the Delta team participated in a press conference with the local news about their work and mission.

​“The impact of this trip has been so momentous, and since our arrival back to the United States, the Delta team and I have been in discussion in regards to what we can do in the future to make this project more sustainable so that the impact is long-term,” says Guillaume. “Both of the clinics are in need of volunteers and personnel so I am also reaching out to nurses and clinicians within my network to bring an even larger group of people for the next trip, with the hopes of being able to assist the local medical staff in the care and treatment of patients.”

Guillaume is a RN based in Atlanta who works as an HIV/AIDS team nurse. She is also a board member for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Atlanta chapter.