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Lenexa, Kan. – Premier Studios executives traveled to Haiti last week with BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, and Premier Studios client
Heart to Heart International, a humanitarian medical aid nonprofit organization, to document a joint volunteer initiative to strengthen healthcare in Haiti.
A team of 13 BD associates from around the world volunteered to travel to Haiti for three weeks to work with Heart to Heart partners at medical clinics to improve the country's ability to provide healthcare services for its people. Premier Studios Heart to Heart account supervisor,
Doug Weinbrenner, and executive creative director,
Matt Johnson, were there to strategically document the story every step of the way.
"The collective purpose of BD and Heart to Heart International is long-term empowerment over short-term charity. This was exemplified most through the hiring of displaced Haitian doctors and medical professionals to deliver health and hope to fellow citizens in some of the most underserved regions,” said Weinbrenner. “To be part of this story — and able to tell it — is transformative."
BD volunteers are working with medical staff from Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Fondwa to build on their existing patient care services, including
- Collaborating with National Lab of Haiti to develop Standard Operating Procedures for medical laboratories and providing lab training to improve diagnostic practices and disease management
- Constructing laboratories in two urban healthcare clinics and developing a "lab in a box" for satellite and mobile clinics in rural areas to increase access to quality care
- Creating materials for and conducting healthcare worker and patient education on proper hygiene, nutrition and sexually transmitted diseases to help reduce the spread of disease
- Replacing temporary patient facilities with permanent structures to improve care conditions.
"Partnership is one of our core values and is critical to our mission," said
André Butler, Chief Executive Officer, Heart to Heart. "We have partnered with BD for nearly a decade, and this Volunteer Service Trip only deepens our relationship and our ability to strengthen communities throughout Haiti and beyond. BD employees are helping to establish vital lab services and paving the way for future Heart to Heart volunteers throughout Haiti. Their efforts and dedication will impact lives for years to come."