'Once you go, you want to go back'

Tracy Lipscomb, wife of CoxHealth Board of Directors member Larry Lipscomb, is on her third trip to Haiti to deliver much-needed medical supplies on CoxHealth's behalf. Tracy is volunteering in the Canaan Christian community, which consists of a medical clinic, orphanage, school and church. "There are no words to describe the conditions there," Tracy says. "It's unbelievable, but what is just as unbelievable are the people and their resolve, resilience and dignity."

Watch for updates during this year's trip. In the meantime, here's a look back at Lipscomb's 2010 trip to Haiti, as featured in the June 2010 issue of CoxHealth Connection:

Medicine and supplies donated by CoxHealth were used this spring to treat hundreds of Haitians, many of whom were still suffering from injuries they sustained in the earthquake that devastated the island the first of the year.

Springfield resident Tracy Lipscomb delivered the items on Cox’s behalf in March while traveling to Haiti to volunteer at an orphanage. Lipscomb is the wife of Larry Lipscomb who is a Cox board member and grandson of CoxHealth’s namesake Lester E. Cox. This was her second trip to Haiti.

“I did not want to go empty-handed especially after the earthquake,” says Lipscomb. “I really wanted to be able to take something from Cox on this trip.”

The supplies were used by a group of American physicians and nurses who travel to Haiti several times each year to provide medical care in a community called Canaan, near the coastal town of Montrouis. The Canaan Christian community consists of a medical clinic, orphanage, school and church.

Lipscomb was invited to join the group by her friend Marcia Hlavacek, whose son, Dr. Tony Hlavacek (right, above) leads the medical mission. Dr. Hlavacek, a pediatric cardiologist from South Carolina had provided Lipscomb a “wish list” of items needed to hold medical clinics in the area.

“Cox provided everything that was on that list,” says Dr. Hlavacek. “It was very generous. I didn’t expect to get all of the stuff we asked for, but we did. I was so excited.”

Lipscomb collected the donation from Cox and carefully packed the supplies, filling two large bags with medication to treat infections, pain relievers, anti-fungal creams, vitamins, and surgical supplies.

As Lipscomb arrived in Canaan she saw people already standing in line to get help. Many of them had come from long distances away. Word spreads quickly when the doctors return.

“The medicine was unwrapped so fast,” says Lipscomb. “It was put on the shelves and used immediately because there were people already waiting outside the clinic to see the doctors.”

People of all ages come from the surrounding area to the clinic. Dr. Hlavacek says doctors saw a boy with a serious viral infection. Doctors were able to stabilize him using the medications from Cox before he was transported to another facility. Dr. Hlavacek says the boy recovered.

 

“We held clinic for three days thanks to the medication and supplies from Cox,” says Dr. Hlavacek. “The first day we saw 75 patients at the clinic. The second day we sent out two teams, one to a small mountain village that has no access to medical care and the other group was at the orphanage. We saw 115 people that day. The third day we had clinic back at the orphanage and saw another 70 patients. We were able to treat more than 250 patients with those medications.”

Dr. Hlavacek says donations like the one from Cox are vital to continuing the medical missions since the group relies almost entirely on donations. The group plans to return to Haiti in August and in October.

Lipscomb would like to return to Haiti more often but plans to go once a year to support the medical team and the orphanage.

“Once you go, you want to go back,” says Lipscomb. “I really love the Haitian culture. I love the people. There are no words to describe the conditions there. It’s unbelievable, but what is just as unbelievable are the people and their resolve, resilience and dignity. There’s no sense of entitlement. They are very grateful for everything that comes their way. It’s pretty amazing.”