August 3, 2016

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.” 

— Matthew 7:13-14

WE HAVE AN URGENT NEED: AUTOCLAVE…$4,500

An autoclave is used to sterilize surgical equipment, laboratory instruments, pharmaceutical items, and other materials. It can sterilize solids, liquids, hollows, and instruments of various shapes and sizes. If you can help with getting an AUTOCLAVE for the Jesus Healing Center, please call 239-210-6107 and let a staff member know.

Barbara MacMannis, our Medical Administrator at the Jesus Healing Center,  just sent this update about the Jesus Healing Center. Barbara is doing a fantastic job and we are so thankful for her dedication. I hope you will take a few minutes to read about this great work.

 

Throughout my time as administrator of the Love A Child Jesus Healing Center, I have been troubled about how saturated the Haitian culture is in the practice of Voodoo. It surprises me how prevalent it is, and it disappoints me about its interweaving with the practice of Christianity.

Each day I witness very sick people, who after visiting the local witch doctor without success come to the clinic. Many times it is too late. As I stand and watch the patients come through the gate my heart is distressed for each patient represents a human creation who may not know the LORD. All we can do is plant the seeds and pray for the Holy Spirit to enter in an open heart.

What lifts my spirit is knowing from the moment patients enter the gate a seed may be planted, fertilized, or encouraged through hope in Christ. Simultaneously, as the patients are led in prayer, the staff is on the other side of the building also praying for the ministry, patients and themselves to be Christ-like in everything we do.

Gate Keeper

Because we have many people coming to the clinic each day, and many times 50–75 must be turned away, we have a security guard at the clinic gate where the patients enter. It is the job of the guard to give the unfortunate news to the patients remaining outside the gate; we have reached the limit of people we can see. This number is determined by the amount of doctors we have for the day.

I have been at the gate when it closes, and I feel for the people who remain outside the gate, for we cannot know who has a serious problem, which may need to be addressed that day, and so this is why we pray each day at employee devotions, for discernment and wisdom.

 

From the first day I arrived as administrator of the Jesus Healing Center I have been saddened by the closing of the gate. The LORD had laid it on my heart to try to increase the amount of patients seen each day, hopefully without working the doctors to fatigue, or having the staff working over ten hours a day.

At first it seemed the building was too small to increase our patient load. Every place patients waited was difficult to maneuver through, and bringing a wheelchair through was nearly impossible without having the other patients get up and walk outside.

 

During our biannual licensing inspection the local health-governing agency found we had an inadequate sized pharmacy for the amount of people we served. It was a small room about 8 x 8 feet, which was trying to hold enough medications to be used each day without much success. A lot of time was spent without the needed medication because it was housed elsewhere on the campus. I felt we had to be more efficient to be able to see more patients.

We also knew we had to maintain a budget, so remodeling had to be inexpensive, and without adding on to the existing structure. We all prayed for such a plan to be revealed to us. The LORD was faithful, as a wonderful Pastor/Architect assisted us with the planning.

We rearranged rooms, took down walls, and attacked all the “dead space” we could find. We were able to enlarge the emergency room, enlarge the pharmacy, make the front office smaller and move the triage area, so we now had more waiting area space for the patients, in real waiting rooms instead of the hallways. Our hallways were now cleared for wheelchairs and stretchers to move about as needed.

 

Emergency room before:

 

Emergency room after:

 

An emergency room that could only see three ‘bed patients’ before, was increased to a six ‘bed patients’ area. Our pharmacy now holds all the medication we need for the month, and with a few exceptions, our staff can fill 90 percent of all prescriptions here at the Jesus Healing Center. With a little staff restructuring we were able to increase our patient load. At the end of June we had seen 3,271 patients for the month, an increase of over 1,000 patients each month since January 2016. What a blessing to these people.

 

Pharmacy before:

 

Pharmacy After:

 

“For I know the plans I have for you, “declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

— Jeremiah 29:11

This efficiency and enlarged work area is all in God’s planning as the political arena in Haiti becomes more unstable. Hospitals are closed and government workers are on strike because their pay is so low or they are going unpaid. The lives of the Haitians are becoming more and more uncertain, but we have a certainty; the LORD is our only hope, and through Him we can accomplish much for His glory. All these events are not a coincidence, but a well thought out sequence of events by God. The Jesus Healing Center provides medical and spiritual hope for the people of the southeast plateau of Haiti.

This expansion of the Jesus Healing Center has come at a critical time. The government health care facilities are on strike and there is a dire health crisis escalating in Haiti. Doctors have been on strike since March 28 of this year. Now that the Jesus Healing Center is here, more and more poor Haitians are finding their way to our clinic from all over Haiti for medical care, and they are receiving excellent treatment.

Every day, in addition to seeing many patients, our clinic handles emergency cases, everything from motorcycle accidents to children and babies in life-threatening situations. Here are some of our most recent patients.

This tiny and “near dead” baby named Christella was thought to be four months old. Because of malnutrition, she is actually nine months old! Her mother and family live high in the mountains of “Peyi Pouri,” which overlooks Love A Child and the Jesus Healing Center from miles up. Her mother made the trip all the way down the mountain because many of the hospitals here in Haiti (including the general hospital) are on strike! This has put a large strain on our Jesus Healing Center. This little baby needs a miracle to survive. Pray for Christella

 

This is Jamisson who lives across the lake from “Le Tant One” in the village we call “Le Tant Two.” He has come to our clinic with severe eye and skin infections. His little eyes were so swollen that he would just hold his hands over his eyes in pain. He would get better and then, return to his mud hut and get worse. Our missionary Kaeli suggested we bring him into our orphanage until he could “heal” completely. It has only been about a week, and look at how much better he is! “Love never fails.”

 

New Passenger Van

The Jesus Healing Center received a 15-passenger van from Joyce Meyer Ministries—Hand of Hope. This van is invaluable and provides transportation for patients, their families, and children from the orphanage to receive medical care from specialty doctors or other clinics. This van frees up our ambulance to be used for only emergencies.

The Jesus Healing Center cares for patients with chronic and debilitating illnesses who must see a specialist monthly. This van allows us to coordinate appointments for several patients to see specialists in the Port-au-Prince area, which saves time and keeps in line with our budget. We are so grateful for this van and it is helping us change lives throughout Haiti.

Here are some photos of a few Haitians that have used the van to go to off-site doctors’ appointments, which are improving the quality of their lives.

Haitian women and children are transported to a doctor.

 

Transporting two pregnant women to a hospital.

 

Children waiting to be taken to doctors’ appointments for a higher level of treatment.

This young boy is suffering from acute Kwashiorkor Malnutrition.

 

These young boys are being transported to a specialized doctor.

 

This little girl is also waiting for transportation in the new van to a doctor’s appointment.

 

We also thank Joyce Meyer Ministries–Hand of Hope for their continued support of this clinic. These specialties coupled with a foundation in Christ Jesus keeps the Jesus Healing Center, as the ultimate “gate” to be standing beside. The Jesus Healing Center reaches out to care for the whole family through Consultation, Community Health and our well-planned Referral System for those who need extended care.

Blessings,

Barbara MacMannis, RN; Medical Administrator
Love A Child Jesus Healing Center
Fond Parisien, Haiti

Second Quarter Numbers at the Jesus Healing Center

Population seen in the clinic……………11,601

Diagnosis

 

 

 

In Memory of Melissa Pierre 2015-2016