It all begins with a foundation – A home. A school. An office. Even Family Medicine.

You can’t build any of these structures without first building a foundation, just like Family Medicine can’t stand on its own without strong support.

The AAFP Annual Fund is the foundation of Family Medicine. With your donation, the Foundation can provide more than 20 humanitarian, scientific, and educational initiatives with the support they need to stand firm.  

For example, the AAFP Foundation’s humanitarian program Family Medicine Cares USA supports the start-up efforts of new free health clinics around the United States through grants and volunteer efforts. Since the program began in April 2011, more than $70,000 has been provided to help open doors for four new clinics. Family Medicine Cares International delivers patient care and provides medical resources for underserved populations in need around the world, with initial focus on Haiti.

Your donations have also helped us build a foundation for research. During the past 18 months, the Foundation has funded more than $306,000 in support of research efforts with the Joint Grant Awards Program (JGAP) and Research Stimulation and Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) Stimulation Grants.

The Foundation was able to provide more scholarships to medical students and residents last year than ever before to attend the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Resident and Medical Students. Because of your increasing support, we’re building a foundation for the Future of Family Medicine one scholarship at a time.

Nothing can exist without a foundation. Let’s continue to build one for Family Medicine. Make a contribution to the Annual Fund.

2013 Family Medicine Cares International Patient Care Team

(L to R) Drs. Julie Anderson, Kim Tjaden, and Denis Chagnon

(L to R) Drs. Michelle Jones, Ainee Ahmed, Dave Smith and Jacobo Rivero

The Patient Care Team took a few moments one morning to take a few quick photos before the group divided up to head out for the day.  Dr. David Smith reflected on his recent experience in Haiti, "My lasting recollection of the February 2013 FMCI delegation trip to Haiti will be that of two groups of people; the people of Haiti who we came to serve, and that of my fellow Patient Care Team members with whom I shared the entire experience."

Dr. Chagnon as the patient..

Dr. Chagnon took some time with the little boy in this photo after having diagnosed his mother with a previously unknown heart murmur and arranged for a cardiology evaluation.  Because of Dr. Chagnon's evaluation the mother was able to avoid hospitalization or worse.

When asked about his experience in Haiti he said it, "truly felt like I was making a difference in the lives of the people of Haiti on this remarkable life experience."

Dr. Smith examining a little boy.

Dr. Smith shared his experience about the people of Haiti and making a difference, "the people of Haiti were clearly in need of assistance, and very appreciative of what services were provided. They faced similar problems that patients face elsewhere in the tropics, but with a fraction of the resources. They do so without complaining, but with a spirit of optimism, acceptance, and gratitude. For some, we were the first physicians they had ever seen. Our Patient Care team was touched by their patience and resolve."

      

Dr. Jones examining a little girl.

Dr. Smith went on to say that, "As team members, we grew together in a manner I had not experienced since residency, decades ago, when faced with the need to practice in a very new, foreign and somewhat unsettling situation. We worked hard during the day at the clinics, and then would share our meals, clinic experiences, long dusty rides, and dormitory space in the evenings."

Dr. Anderson enjoying the kids after well-child exams.

  

Dr. Smith on the overall experience, "I have developed a desire to continue with this sort of medical mission work through Family Medicine Cares International/Heart to Heart International, and a deep appreciation for those physicians I had the pleasure of working with."

Dr. Chagnon on his experience, "The Medical volunteer experience in Haiti with FMCI and Heart to Heart International was a truly remarkable life experience."

2013 FMCI Annual Delegation

Medical Education Team

The Medical Education team spent seven days in Haiti working to directly impact the future of family medicine. The Medical Education team held a day-long symposium in two locations, one in Cap Haitien and one in Port au Prince, to provide specialized continuing education for Haitian doctors and health care providers. The symposium topics focused on cardiovascular disease. The team also held meetings with the two family medicine residency programs in Haiti, the Deans of the four medical schools in Haiti, the Ministry of Health (MSPP), and the U.S. Embassy to discuss the future of Family Medicine. The Medical Education team consisted of the following family physicians and AAFP members (pictured with Dr. Andre Vulcain of the Haiti Project):

• Dr. Mary Jo Welker – Delegation Lead, AAFP Foundation President
• Dr. Anna Doubeni
• Dr. Laura Knobel
• Dr. Evelyn Lewis&Clark – AAFP Foundation Board Trustee
• Dr. William Markle
• Dr. Jane Weida – AAFP Foundation Vice President

Brenda Cherpitel of the AAFP Foundation served as Staff Lead for the Medical Education team and the Family Medicine Cares International program.

Patient Care Team

The Patient Care team spent their time in Haiti treating more than 600 patients from two weeks to 92 years of age. They worked at five different clinics and an orphanage throughout the region and saw a number of conditions. They were able to see over 100 children one of the days for well-child exams. This is not something that normally happens in Haiti and was considered very rewarding for all involved. The physicians were able to treat a number of patients that had been seen previously at the clinics and were impressed by the continuity of care that they were able to achieve in such remote locations. The Patient Care team consisted of the following family physicians and AAFP members:

•  Dr. Ainee Ahmed
• Dr. Julie Anderson
• Dr. Denis Chagnon
• Dr. Michelle Jones – AAFP Foundation Board Trustee
• Dr. Jacobo Rivero
• Dr. Dave Smith
• Dr. Kimberly Tjaden 

Service Team

The Service Team spent their time in Haiti giving back to its smallest voices at the Rose Mina Orphanage and the Fondwa Orphange and School. While they were working at Rose Mina they were able to paint the facility a cheerful yellow, inspect the recently completed dining room and renovated bathrooms funded by the AAFP Foundation, provide food, vitamins and other basic necessities to the children. The entire Delegation hosted a lunch and party for the children with treat bags, balloons, soccer balls, and fun all around!

The Service Team also drove to Fondwa Orphanage and School to visit the children, deliver clothing and soccer balls, and see the kitchen renovation project which was funded by the AAFP Staff.

This group also helped out at the Bel Air Clinic by completing improvements to the clinic facilities such as painting and staining the remodeled triage area, the new enclosed pharmacy area, and improved bathroom facilities. All projects were funded by the AAFP Foundation. The Service Team consisted of the following individuals:

• Lloyd Welker – Volunteer Lead
• Douglas MacLean, CEO, Pharmavite
• Haley Maclean
• Taylor MacLean
• Christen Moburg, Associate Director, Advocacy, MedImmune
• Karen Smith

Lori Foley of the AAFP Foundation served as Staff Lead for the Team.

  

Make a Donation

If you would like to be part of this rewarding work in Haiti, please consider making a donation. Through your donation to Family Medicine Cares International, you are making a difference in helping those in need, at home and around the world.

Just the Beginning in Haiti

The AAFP Foundation's first Family Medicine Cares International Delegation recently returned from a week long trip to Haiti.  The group was hosted by in-country partner Heart to Heart International and the Delegation was divided into three teams: Patient Care, Service & Medical Education.

The Medical Education team held two symposiums across Haiti to provide specialized continuing education for Haitian doctors and healthcare providers. Their topic focused on cardiovascular disease.

One of those locations was in the historic city of Cap Haitien, on the country’s north coast. The symposium in Cap Haitien was documented by a journalist from the French-language Le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s oldest and largest daily newspaper.


Click the screengrab to the left to see the original article and to read it in French.
Or look below to read the article translated directly into English.

FOR A SURVEY OF THE LEVEL OF HEALTH IN HAITI
Le Nouvelliste | Publié le : 2013-02-06
by: Daphney Valsaint Malandre

Cap Haitien, Haiti — While the final preparations for organizing the carnival takes place in a city of Cap-Haïtien boosted, a group of Haitian and foreign doctors met at the training center of the Justinian Hospital for a symposium Monday, February 4, 2013 .

This activity falls within the framework of a project resulting from the agreement between Dr. Andre Vulcain, the “Project Haiti”, the American Academy of Family Physicians and Heart to Heart International. This project aims primarily to raise the level of health in Haiti while focusing on family medicine. Dr. Andre Vulcain, Haitian doctor, trained in Haiti but who have a specialization in family medicine at the University of Miami, working for the “Haiti Project”, a project of the School of Medicine of the University of Miami that supports Justinian Hospital for nearly 12 years.

Dr. Vulcan returns to Cap-Haitien regularly to provide support for training family physicians can take care of most health problems that may be present in a population. The “Haiti Project” has also helped the hospital develop a service family physicians and to develop a program of support for PV / HIV and a physical rehabilitation program. Their main goal is to assist existing entities and help them to build their capacity. To do this, they are backed by the American Academy of Family Physicians and the NGO Heart to Heart International.

The mission of the American Academy of Family Physicians in Haiti spans three phases. The organization of the Cap-Haitien symposium on cardiovascular disease in partnership with Dr Vulcan is the first. A second symposium will be held in Port-au-Prince Thursday, February 7. Meanwhile, a part of the team providing care to the needy in the area of Leogane while another is actively working in clinics and orphanages in neighborhoods like Bel Air.

Haiti has not been the first country to benefit from the assistance of these practitioners from the United States. These have indeed worked in many other underdeveloped countries. Heart to Heart International, a nongovernmental organization based in the United States, meanwhile, already working in Haiti for five years. The organization has shown, among others, has enough on Haitian soil immediately after the earthquake of 12 January 2010. At that time, there was talk of bringing first aid and provide necessary equipment. This time around, she wants to launch a new program that has already been proven in several Soviet countries for twenty years.

Heart to Heart International has already set up a permanent office in Haiti and several clinics in areas such as Leogane, Bel-Air and the south-east. A staff of about forty Haitians supported by foreign doctors ensure the proper functioning of these clinics. The organization is not only combined with other entities such as the American Academy of Family Physicians, but also with the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) to help Haitian doctors to become specialists in family medicine and increase the level of education of nurses.

These symposia which is attended by representatives of the American Academy of Family Physicians and Heart to Heart International and Dr. Andre Vulcain are in fact the beginnings of a project should extend the long term.