GW Nursing Magazine 2014

Partnership for
Sustainable
Economic
Development and
Health Care in Haiti
The GW School of Nursing has embarked
on a unique partnership to improve the
health of those living in the northern
part of Haiti near Cap-Haïtien. After the
earthquake in Port-au-Prince, the US
Department of State, US Agency for
International Development (USAID), and
Haitian government developed strategies
to rejuvenate the Haitian economy. One
solution was to develop a textile industrial
park, thus creating jobs for upwards of
50,000 Haitians.
The anchor of this effort is Sae-A Trading
Co., Ltd., a South Korean-based global
company that operates a network of garment
factories across the world. It employs
more than 50,000 people, many of whom
make the T-shirts sold in US stores and
worn every day. In addition to the Caracol
Industrial Park in Haiti, Sae-A has operated
a school of kindergarten to ninth grade with
free education for more than 200 Haitian
students, many of whom have parents
working in the park. The school will have
more than 250 students for the coming year
and will extend its classes up to 12th grade.
Woong-Ki Kim, the founder and
chairman of Sae-A, is the father of Saila Kim,
a GW School of Business 2014 graduate.
Chairman Kim met with President Steven
Knapp and Dean Jean Johnson, and as
a result of their mutual commitment to
education and Haiti, the School of Nursing
was called upon to explore a medical
partnership with Sae-A.
After the park and school were
established, the next step was to provide
health care for employees and their families.
To support this endeavor, USAID built 750
housing units with clean running water
and electricity (remarkable since only 12
percent of Haitians have access to consistent
electricity), and the US State Department
has worked to address international trade
barriers that would limit the success of the
venture.
Dean Johnson, Director of Community
and Global Initiatives Joyce Pulcini, and
Associate Director of Development Erin
Harkins-Medina visited Haiti in March to
attend the ribbon cutting for the new Sae-A
primary school and to see the state-of-theart
factories that have been built.
The SON returned in August as a
partner in a medical mission with Sae-A
Trading Co., Ltd., Pusan National University
Yangsan Hospital in South Korea, and
Caracol Industrial Park in Cap-Haïtien.
For this August mission, the SON team
comprised 12 people, including faculty and
staff members, students, and alumni. The
GW nursing team worked with physicians,
pharmacists, a social worker and a nurse
from Pusan University Hospital to care for
about 3,000 Haitians in the span of six days.
Sae-A made a generous gift of $30,000
to support SON faculty and student travel
and training costs. Sae-A also covered the
costs of in-country transportation, lodging,
and meals during the project.
The School of Nursing is committed
to being part of a sustainable effort to
improve the health of Haitian people
and communities. It is anticipated this
unique partnership will be a long-term
collaboration integrating health care into
economic development efforts for the
people of Haiti.
Dr. Joyce Pulcini and Dean Jean Johnson with the
S&H School nurse at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
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