Bridging the Gap in Emergency Medical Transportation in Haiti

While providing emergency medical ground transport in Haiti, Yvens Forges has had to traverse rocky roads, sometimes for several hours, to get to the nearest hospital. He has even had guns pointed at him.

Forges is the manager of Medic Transport, a small company he founded in May 2022 in Bourjolly, Les Cayes, to transport  people with medical emergencies to the nearest hospital or other facility for lifesaving treatment.

He provides service in the SUD Department – one of Haiti’s 10 administrative departments – and often transports patients to the adjacent Grand'Anse Department.

The Beginning of Medic Transport

Forges, a married father of two young children, has two years of accounting, computer skills, and experience operating heavy equipment. "I love to work with my hands, and I love helping those in need," he says.

Starting Medic Transport was a totally different experience for him.

 In 2020, Forges took six months of basic life support skills classes and equipped the inside of a 2000 Ford Excursion with medical equipment to create an ambulance.

The ambulance has a driver with basic life support skills and either a nurse or a doctor, depending on the patient's condition. Forges says there are no EMTs or paramedics in Haiti.

Unreliable cell phone service means people in need call one of four phone numbers to ask for help.

Forges' motivation for starting Medic Transport came from a personal experience he had in 2016. He had to take his grandfather to the city of Les Cayes for a prostate problem

“From 9 a.m., we were looking for a car to take him to the Hospital Lumiere in Bonne Finn,” he explains. “Seven hours later, we found a truck. After we got to the hospital, they took him to an emergency room. Five minutes later, they put a catheter in him, and all the pee went out. He spent the whole previous night not peeing at all.”

Forges realized that there was a need for medical emergency ground transportation in Haiti, as there was no such service at the time. He conducted in-depth research and six years later, Medic Transport became a reality.

Training to Improve Care in Haiti

According to the World Bank, Haiti is the poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean region and among the poorest countries in the world.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is working to build the capacity of key Haitian organizations and the Haitian government to strengthen Haiti's health systems through locally-led solutions. However, Haiti's health systems continue to face complex challenges, including the lack of governance and sector coordination; financial and geographical barriers to accessing health services; and shortages of healthcare workers and essential medicines.

Medic Transport funds a two-week 'first rescuer' training program in basic life support skills such as first aid, CPR, stop the bleed, limb fixation, emergency evacuation, and understanding and helping those in a state of shock. The training is conducted at a church, as it provides a convenient meeting site equipped with solar power. Forges says that Haiti is at risk of earthquakes, hurricanes, and a high rate of street accidents. Many times, people try to help, but they do it the wrong way, which can cause more damage to the people they are trying to save.

Medic Transport uses its materials and pays some teachers to teach young people how to help someone in danger and how to stabilize or keep someone alive until other units such as their ambulances arrive. Forges says this meets a critical need because the population has a lack of knowledge in this domain, which can help save thousands of lives.

In 2021, Haiti had a Gross National Income per capita of US$1,420, the lowest in the LAC region, the World Bank notes.

“Sometimes we help those in street accidents, but we cannot help everybody,” Forges says. “If the accident is in our way, we do the best we can to save them, but there is no money to receive for that.”

For example, Medic Transport encountered a pregnant woman who had been in labor for three days but had no means of hospital transport. Forges took her to the hospital and helped her with a little bit of money, but says he was unable to do much more.

“When we first started, we used our savings,” Forges says. “Some people pay for the service. Often, we find people who are in danger – real emergencies – but do not have enough to cover the costs. We simply fix a price where we can pay the nurse or the doctor who goes with us or the driver if I'm not the one who drives. The rest is there for maintenance, repair, car wash, fuel, and parts. Most parts have to come from the United States.”

EMS Education in Haiti

He also hopes to establish a school of paramedics and EMTs in Haiti.

Despite the challenges, Forges has made significant progress with Medic Transport in a few short years. He is proud of the work that he and his team do to help people in need.

Forges recalls three medical transfers that he is particularly proud of and that remind him of why he does what he does.

The first patient he drove to the hospital was a 19-year-old female who sustained injuries in a severe motorcycle wreck. She had been in pain for three days and the government hospital did not have the personnel to help her. Medic Transport drove her to a hospital in Bonne Fin, which was a difficult journey due to the rocky roads.

“She spent three days in pain and they had no personnel in the government hospital,” he says. “They called us and we had to drive her up the mountain to Bonne Fin. It seemed impossible to get there with her.”

Another transfer involved a three-day-old baby with respiratory problems needing intensive care.

“She spent too long in the mother’s womb,” he explains. “She needed oxygen during the transfer. She turned green and Mama was already in tears.  We took her to a different hospital and had to provide extra oxygen for her because that hospital was low on oxygen. The transfer was a success. Ten days later, I received a picture and tears came to my eyes. She was already bigger and in good shape.”

Forges says he derives an immense sense of satisfaction from facing imminent danger and forging through challenges to bring people in a medical emergency to a hospital for treatment. 

“We try to make a difference in people's lives every single day – not just a particular group of people,” he says.

Medic Transport can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/forges.josephvnens

Other ways to contact Forges are at +509 3324-0149 and +509 4768-8338 (both numbers are affiliated with WhatsApp) and via email at yvensforges@gmail.com