WOMEN'S HEALTH

GAHDA provides outreach and support for chronic health conditions.

Integrated Breast Cancer Care: We recognize the need for this service because women as young as 26 are dying of untreated breast cancer, when a mother dies, her children are at risk of dying as well.

Our breast cancer program has evolved to include training rural health providers and teaching women techniques of self-breast examination. Clinical breast exams, sonography, and biopsy services are offered in collaboration with Avera Health System. This program coordinates volunteers at the GAHDA Center to provide education, screening, clinical breast examination, with ultrasound, biopsy, and pathology as needed. This program will be conducted twice yearly beginning in 2019. Other services include telephone follow-up, home visits, medication, and referrals.

Self Breast Exam and Education: We train outreach workers to hold trainings at churches across the region, creating awareness of breast cancer screening, self-exams, treatment, and services. GAHDA will train 120,000 women in the Grand'Anse region to conduct self-exams, know when to seek treatment, and prepare them to be advocates for breast health in their immediate communities and parishes.

Surgical Intervention and Support: Building on the Women’s Special Health Breast Cancer Program, a surgical team provides treatment for women identified with breast cancer. The Surgery Project partners Haitian and US surgical teams with specialized skills (based in Connecticut and Mississippi) to offer surgery locally at St. Antoine Hospital, the only government hospital for the Grand’Anse Department. In addition to treating breast cancer, surgical teams remove goiters and repair hernias. Surgical teams provide continuing education, materials, and supplies, and work in collaboration with local surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, translators, and community outreach staff.