| GARDNER — Residents of the southern part of Haiti do not have access to some of the most basic forms of health care, a troubling fact that local officials are trying to change by raising funds at a local road race this weekend. The race, which is scheduled to occur at 1 p.m. Saturday behind Mount Wachusett Community College, will offer participants prizes, including several handcrafted items brought back from the nonprofit’s latest trip to Haiti. Because the race is sponsored in part by Heywood Hospital and the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce, representatives from both organizations accompanied Dr. John Mulqueen on a recent trip to Haiti so they could gain a better understanding of how the development of a health care clinic could dramatically improve the lives of the locals. “Our ultimate goal is to put in a permanent clinic in southern Haiti, and over the last couple of years we have been raising money and have been doing it in phases,” said Dr. Mulqueen. “This year, our mission is to drill a well on the land where we are building the clinic because we need to put in the well before we can begin construction on the clinic itself.” According to Dr. Mulqueen, the well will not only provide water for the clinic, but also the residents of the surrounding towns. “The two most important things you can do for people who are impoverished is provide them with a health clinic and clean water,” said Dr. Mulqueen. “We are going to need this water for the clinic, but we are going to pipe it out so twice a day the people who live there can get clean water for cleaning and cooking.” On the trip, Dr. Mulqueen said Heywood Hospital President Daniel P. Moen and Chamber of Commerce President Michael Ellis witnessed health care being distributed to more than 900 victims of four recent hurricanes, an experience that he said made them appreciate the urgent need for a health clinic. “What I saw was the need for health clinics all over the country,” said Mr. Ellis. “There is a pervasive need for comprehensive health care and consistent health care, and the trip really opened my eyes to the need for follow-up care for people in Haiti.” Mr. Ellis said the care that he helped offer during his time in Haiti was generally for problems that people in the United States would simply go to their local pharmacist to cure. “We were helping these people with things that weren’t chronic conditions, they were preventative things that they didn’t have to deal with,” said Mr. Ellis. “They were suffering from problems that were easily fixable and oftentimes preventable.” Dr. Mulqueen said the money raised in earlier races was used to fund the preliminary planning of the clinic and every year the proceeds from the race helps bring them closer to completion. “The first year the fundraiser was really just to get us started,” said Dr. Mulqueen. “We used the money to hire a director in Haiti and build up the organization. Then the second year, we built a 10-foot wall around the land itself and we are excited to get the third phase started.” Dr. Mulqueen said the nonprofit organization wouldn’t exist without support from the community, and he expects more of the same at this year’s event. “This is essentially the major fundraiser for the year for us so we try to get a lot of support from local businesses,” said Dr. Mulqueen. “We have a lot of employees at Heywood signing up and another huge contributor to the race are the students at Gardner High School. We expect to have a lot of students participating.” Residents interested in the race can sign up at the organization’s Web site, http://www.forwardinhealth.org or on the day of the race. oboss@thegardnernews.com |
| Appeared on Page 1 on 10/14/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 243) |
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