Healthcare in Haiti suffering from gang problem too, survey shows

The Haitian Times 
www.haitiantimes.com 
By J.O. Haselhoef

Dr. Peterson Thosiac, chief surgeon at the Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope in Fonds Parisien, was riding his bike from his mother’s home outside of Port-au-Prince to work at the hospital. Somewhere along the 20-mile journey, gang members shot and robbed Thosiac. A bullet just missed his chest and arm, where so many nerves crucial to a surgeon’s work are located, but Thosiac survived.

Thosiac’s boss, Dr. Ted Higgins, was on his way to Haiti via the Dominican Republic when he learned about the crime. Higgins, founder of the surgery center, quickly made his way there, met by 70 distraught employees. 

“‘Why don’t we just shut down and go on hold,’” Higgins recalls suggesting to staff. “‘Let’s just close the doors for a bit. Let the dust settle here until the roads are safe.’”

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