Patriots Team Plane Used to Deliver Lifesaving Aid to Haiti

In the wake of the devastating, 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck southern Haiti on Saturday, August 14, the Kraft family and the New England Patriots have stepped in to help Build Health International (BHI) and Partners in Health (PIH) deliver lifesaving supplies and personnel to Haiti to aid in ongoing relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts.

Thanks to the generosity of the Kraft family and working with the Baker-Polito Administration, the Patriots plane will be headed to Haiti today. On board are volunteer ER doctors, nursing managers, project engineers, and infrastructure specialists to support BHI and PIH teams already on the ground.           

When it arrives in Haiti, the plane will also be carrying close to 40 pallets of critical medical equipment, supplies, medicine, water and consumables that are desperately needed to treat trauma patients, including everything from hospital beds and suture kits to small generators.

Both BHI and PIH have long histories in Haiti. The organizations have partnered together on numerous projects across the country. After the 2010 earthquake, PIH and BHI worked together with local leaders, doctors, nurses, and staff to build the University Hospital in Mirebalais, a 300-bed, internationally accredited hospital for first-class training of Haitian physicians, nurses, and biomedical technicians.

“BHI was born following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti,” said BHI Co-Founder and Director Jim Ansara. “Over the years, we’ve completed more than 60 projects across the country. Following this latest tragedy – thanks in no small part to the incredible generosity of the Kraft family, the New England Patriots, and partners across Massachusetts – we’re mobilizing to provide urgently-needed expertise and materials to aid in the recovery, and we’re committed to ensuring a reliable and immediate rebuild of critical health facilities across southern Haiti.”  

Following Saturday’s earthquake, BHI and PIH personnel in Haiti were on site in the most impacted areas within hours, conducting rapid assessment and repair of critical health infrastructure and providing urgent trauma care to those injured. On the southern peninsula, St. Boniface Hospital, built by BHI and operated by Boston-based Health Equity International, was relatively unscathed and remained open to patients. BHI, PIH and St. Boniface teams, now reinforced by the additional personnel and material arriving on the Patriots plane, continue to provide direct care, relief, and repair, and are lending their logistics expertise to source, deliver, and distribute critically needed supplies and equipment. 

“We are deeply grateful to the Kraft Family, the entire Patriots organization, Partners In Health and Build Health International for their incredible support and generosity in delivering these critical supplies and medical equipment to the people of Haiti during this devastating time,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “Our thoughts are with Haiti, its residents and their loved ones as the country recovers and rebuilds.”

 Build Health International (BHI) believes that every person has a right to quality healthcare. In 2010, following the Haitian Earthquake, BHI built the Hopital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM), Haiti’s flagship teaching hospital. Since then, BHI has designed, built, and equipped over 200 dignified spaces for care in 26 countries, enabling local clinicians to work at their full potential. Working closely with Ministries of Health, partner organizations, and local workforces, BHI promotes sustainable design, empowers communities, and provides access to dignified and affordable healthcare in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. 

To learn more about these efforts or to partner with Build Health International please visit:www.buildhealthinternational.org.