Destroyed Haiti hospital was a 'beacon' and its loss will be felt, says N.L. doctor
Team Broken Earth operated out of now-destroyed Bernard Mevs Hospital
The Haitian hospital where Newfoundland and Labrador medical volunteers laboured for years to help those in need has been destroyed by gangs — something a doctor who worked out the site says is a major blow to the country's medical infrastructure.
Earlier this month the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince was attacked by armed gangs who destroyed vital medical infrastructure.
"You can imagine a huge city with millions of people. This was a beacon for help and non-partisan, just helped everybody. And to see that lost, it's just a shame," Team Broken Earth chief executive officer Dr. Art Rideout told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show.
It was a "gut wrench" when he heard the hospital had been attacked, he said.
The hospital was the main base of operations for Team Broken Earth's Haiti medical trips and over the years, he saw how the hospital had advanced, adding that Newfoundland and Labrador was a part of that growth.
"There's a three-level structure there, earthquake-proof, that was built through the generosity of Newfoundlanders," he said. "There's a shell there. But at the end of the day, trying to define the extent of it — it's just heartbreaking to see that lost."
While he said they don't currently know the exact extent of the damage, a lot of essential infrastructure has been destroyed.
"We know that those structures — critical ones, operating rooms, emerge — they're just burnt."
He said no one was injured in the attack.
The international medical relief organization was co-founded by St. John's orthopedic surgeon Andrew Furey in 2011, after a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Furey played a pivotal role in Team Broken Eartth for years before he jumped into politics. He has been Newfoundland and Labrador's premier since 2020.
In a social media post, Furey called the attack on the hospital "evil."
"I'm honestly at a loss for words. This place has helped so many people in Haiti. It gave care. It gave hope. It did not deserve this," he wrote.
Devastating loss
Rideout said Bernard Mevs Hospital has a special place in Team Broken Earth's history.
"It's built into our DNA. It's the place that we went first to bring a team and really made a difference, integrated into their learning, their community, based on our skill set of trauma," he said.
Due to security concerns he said volunteers lived on the hospital's site during the duration of their stays.
"So we'd spend all of our time in the structure, in the hospital, in the volunteer quarters," Rideout said, adding that a lot of his memories are tied to the hospital.
He said its loss will be felt by the community.
"It's devastating," said Rideout.
Rideout said Team Broken Earth hasn't been back to Haiti since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that political instability in the country has made a return trip challenging.
"We feel for, you know, the suffering there. We also believe in their resilience and we're looking for the opportunity of when we can get back there safely. That's a big push for us."
He said the situation in Haiti is complex and if volunteers are to return to the country, the situation would have to be safe for them as well as their patients.
"There's a gap there," he said. "How that gap closes is — that's a complex situation that I hope all of us can work together."
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With files from The St. John’s Morning Show
