Dessalines Rural Health
Dessalines Hospital, officially known in Haiti as Claire Heureuse Hospital and located in Marchand Dessalines, 100 miles north of the capital Port-au-Prince, first opened its doors in October 1986. Prior to 1986, there had been a small non-functional government medical center located at the same location as the present hospital. In the early 1980′s the local government leadership, because of a sense of respect and trust for the Free Methodist mission organization, approached the Free Methodist National Church leadership asking if the mission would consider taking control of the hospital. At that time, it was little more than a small, unkempt clinic run by corrupt, absentee physicians. After much prayer, consultation and networking, it was agreed that the Free Methodist Church would assume control.
Today, the Claire Heureuse Hospital, also known to the expatriate world as the Dessalines Rural Health Care Project or D.R.H.P., is a thriving center serving a local population of 250,000. The official mission statement of the hospital is to “Heal, Prevent Illness and Evangelize.”