Nurses raise funds for Haitian clinics

To commemorate World Water Day on Sunday, the School of Nursing sponsored a 5K walk to raise funds to provide filtration systems and access to clean water to a national nursing school and its affiliated clinics in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

“We had been planning an event to aid Haiti for almost a year. When Penn designated the 2010-11 academic year as the Year of Water, we decided our event would be the Walk for Water for Haiti,” Nursing professor and co-chair of Walk for Water Jeannie Cimiotti said.

The Nursing School task force on Haiti partnered with the Male Association of Nursing, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau International.

According to MAN-UP President Spencer Stubbs, Haiti faced challenges with its water supply even before the earthquake in January last year, and more than 60 percent of all Haitians have no access to water.

“Without clean water, the people of Haiti are at risk of poor health and disease, as evidenced by the recent outbreak of cholera,” Stubbs said.

The walk, which began and ended at Houston Hall, helped over 300 participants recognize the difficulty that many Haitians face in obtaining clean water. Five-gallon buckets of water were available to those who wished to carry them to get a taste of the experience of Haitian women who often walk long distances to access clean water.

According to Cimiotti, many of those registered for the Walk had personal ties to Haiti.

HUP nurses Amy Kim and Sara Holland, who helped organize the event, said they wanted to get involved after their experience working in Haiti.

“We took care of Haitian patients after the earthquake last year. [Kim] went to Haiti for two weeks with a surgical team from Penn, ” Holland said.

“My older brother lived in Haiti for five years,” Nursing graduate student Elizabeth Schnorr said. “A lot of his friends passed as a result of the earthquake.”

Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell addressed the participants in an opening ceremony. “She has done so much over the years for the underserved,” Associate Dean of Global Health Affairs Marjorie Muecke said. Numerous local Haitian groups also came to the event including the Haitian Youth Coalition, Haitian Professionals of Philadelphia, the Association of Haitian Medical Professionals and the Haitian Federation. Student nurses from Villanova University, Jefferson University and LaSalle University were also in attendance.

“We anticipate this effort to be the beginning of a long-term partnership with nursing colleagues in Haiti,” Muecke said.

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