(Article, Page 1 of 3)

Stories of the Baptist Witness in Haiti:    1823 - 1998

  By Ivah T. Heneise

Hopital le Bon Samaritain
(Good Samaritan Hospital)

he little clinic begun under the mango trees at the Seminary by Ivah Heneise and Nevart Yeghoyan was soon overwhelmed by crowds of seriously ill people. They came from all around, sometimes alone, sometimes carried by friends or families down the steep mountain slopes of the upper Limbe valley. Yaws, malaria, tuberculosis, dysenteries of various sorts, intestinal parasites, tetanus—all gave evidence of the desperate health needs of a neglected people. In the town of Limbe, Ludovic St. Phard, pastor of the Baptist Church, faced similar problems. Under his dynamic initiative a committee was formed which united his own clinic with that of the Baptist Seminary and planned for the construction of a dispensary. The committee purchased a carreau (100 square meters) of land on the Linnbe-Plaisance road, just above the town of Limbe. Baptists of the area carried rocks from the river to build its foundations. The cornerstone was laid on April 9, 1953. In July of that year the ABHMS sent Miss Millicent Engel, former missionary nurse to China, to direct the dispensary's work. It was formally opened in January, 1954, and dedicated to the spread of the Christian gospel and the demonstration of Christian concern through caring for the sick of the Limbe area. Paul Magioire, president of Haiti, attended the dedication service.

In addition to the dispensary, Miss Engel opened a maternity ward, where she taught scientific midwifery to "wise women" of the valley. After her departure in 1957, the committee found help in Mme. Victor Fontus, a Haitian Baptist nurse from Hinche.

Dr. William Hodges and his wife, Joanna, with their four children, arrived in 1958 to develop this work. The following year Miss Nancy Yeghoyan, a registered nurse and the daughter of Zenas and Nevart Yeghoyan, joined the staff. She was followed shortly by Miss Dorothy Lincoln, who later assumed the responsibility for the maternity ward. A pediatrics wing and a laboratory were added in quick succession. To provide essential electricity for the X-ray and sterilization equipment. Dr. Hodges installed a diesel-powered generator. A new maternity ward was built in 1962; the following year, a vaccination program for the people of the Limbe valley was also begun. Pharmacy services, new consultation rooms, a new laboratory and X-ray room were added. A surgery unit was built in 1986. In 1964, consultations averaged 2,000 outpatients per month; by the end of the century the average was approximately 19,000 monthly. Two other nurses were added in 1965, Miss Belle Williams and Mme. Elie Dumeny, the latter leaving in 1970. Herbert Rogers, a laboratory technician, came in 1974. Haitian physicians included Dr. Arnold Jules, son of Rev. Thomas Jules, a prominent Baptist leader.

Dr. Hollis Clark, sent by the ABHMS, served at the Good Samaritan Hospital from 1970 to 1973, when he went to St. Michel to head the staff of a new Baptist hospital built by Rev. Abraham Lubin, one of many enterprising graduates of the Baptist Seminary. Dr. Clark eventually went to Cap Haitien, where he developed the Cap Haitien Eye Center. Under his dynamic leadership this became a complete eye hospital, serving all the north of Haiti.

In 1983 Dr. Stephen James and family were sent by the American Baptist Board of International Ministries to assist at the Good Samaritan. Later, other missionary physicians joined him for short terms. The hospital also benefitted by the services of numerous volunteer nurses, physicians and office workers. Members of the Hodges family have made valuable contributions to the ongoing program of medical care.

^Return to Top of Page^