Streamlining volunteer efforts in order to maximize the positive impact to urology training and practice
For more than 25 years, volunteer urologists have independently provided direct patient care in Haiti or conducted educational seminars to share their expertise with fellow Haitian colleagues. In general, these activities operated independently without cross-coordination and thus had failed to achieve their full potential.
In 2014, the AUA began to work with Dr. Angelo Gousse, a Haitian-American academic urologist practising in Miami, on humanitarian efforts in Haiti. Dr. Gousse has been volunteering his services in Haiti to improve urologic education for over two decades and has served as a great liaison between Haitian urology and the AUA. The AUA had already been supporting two Haitian residents to attend the Fundamentals in Urology course each year, and in 2015, increased its outreach to Haiti by holding an Ultrasound Course in Port au Prince.
In 2016, Dr. Angelo Gousse co-founded the Global Association for the Support of Haitian Urology (GASHU). The mission of the organisation is to improve academic urologic training in Haiti by working directly with urology residents in Haiti while better coordinating the efforts of non-Haitian urologists contributing to urologic care in Haiti. This effort will also improve access and quality of urological care in Haiti. GASHU also strives to increase awareness with patient education aimed at the Haitian public on the importance of urologic disorders. This mission is fulfilled through various media outlets and activities.
GASHU has been able to streamline volunteer efforts in order to maximise the positive impact to urology training, practice and patient care in Haiti. GASHU identified Hospital St. Francois de Salles (Port-au-Prince) as one of the premiere hospitals in Haiti which offers great potential for the training of residents and the development of surgical workshops. Once a hospital was chosen for urology residency training in Port au Prince, GASHU members realised that a key to The evolution of urology volunteerism in Haiti Streamlining volunteer efforts in order to maximise the positive impact to urology training and practice Global Philanthropic Fund The Global Philanthropic Committee (GPC) consists of multi-national urology organisations including the American Urological Association (AUA), European Urology Association (EAU), International Continence Society (ICS) and the Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU), with the goal of supporting proposals for worthy projects to improve urologic care throughout the world. The GPC allows organisations to pool their resources to fund larger scale philanthropic projects as a collaborative effort. Urology organisations can support a project through monetary funds and/or in-kind donations, including volunteer time.
The GPC’s mission is to provide philanthropic support to improve urological education in the developing world. The GPC strives to provide funding mainly for education and generally will not provide funds for purchasing expensive equipment. The GPC will selectively provide funds for educators to travel for the purpose of providing training in various regions of the world, within the parameters of an approved funding request. the success of long-term training in Haiti is to ensure that donated equipment is properly maintained, stored and used. Understanding this, Dr. Gousse requested support from the Global Philanthropic Committee (GPC) to put in place a dedicated urology nurse at Hospital St. Francois to oversee the care of the instruments and help with medical staff training and coordination of educational workshops. 
The Global Philanthropic Committee (GPC) is a partnership between the American Urological Association (AUA), European Association of Urology (EAU), International Continence Society (ICS) and the Société Internationale d’Urologie (SIU), with the goal of supporting proposals for worthy projects to improve urologic care throughout the world. The primary goal of the GPC is to help build the infrastructure for a sustainable and self-sufficient educational hub in areas of need; using a “train the trainer” model. The GPC has supported the annual salary of Ms. Japhare Joseph for several years now and she has done an outstanding job. Dr. Franks Burks, a reconstructive urologist who travels to Haiti to volunteer on a regular basis, noted that based on his observations he believes “Nurse Japhare’s presence has been the single biggest advancement in urology in Haiti in recent years.” GASHU’s efforts to change the landscape of urologic care in Haiti is supported by several influential global urology organisations and international leaders in the field of urology. In addition the GPC, the following organisations have contributed to this effort over the years: IVUmed, Association des Medecins Haitiens a l’Etranger (AMHE), Societe Haitienne D’Urologie (SHU), Genito-Urinary Reconstructive Surgeons (GURS), Project Haiti, Endourological Society, Notre Dame Filariasis Project, and Konbit Sante. This list is not inclusive and there are many other groups and individuals that have supported this effort.
While the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in Haiti has put on hold in-person visits for now, Drs Angelo Gousse and Dr Henri Lanctin, a urologist who has volunteered in Haiti for a decade and is an active member of GASHU, has organised online workshops to continue urologic education in Haiti. In January, a teleconference on “E-Learning in Urology” was held and was well Dr. Gousse performs surgery with a Haitian colleague Nurse Japhare Joseph serves a critical role in continuing urologic training in Haiti Dr. Angelo Gousse uroweb.org/education Education Online e-learning at your own convenience EAU Education Online course Advanced Prostate Cancer: Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer The new Advanced Prosate Cancer series is comprised of 5 courses which offer clinicians a complete view on clinical aspects, diagnosis and treatments of prostate cancer.
The continued humanitarian effort in Haiti to improve urologic care is a testament to what can be accomplished by a truly coordinated global effort among urologists and urology organisations.
At the 2019 AUA Annual Meeting, Dr. Gousse presented an abstract entitled, “Creation of a Systematic Approach to Improve Urologic Care in Resource Poor Countries: The Haiti Experience”, showing the tangible and positive results that can occur through such a coordinated effort among volunteer physicians. Let’s hope this initiative continues well into the future and can serve as a blueprint for others to follow.
By Ellen Molino , American Urologic Association
Angelo E. Gousse, MD
Clinical Professor of Urology – Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine – FIU
Voluntary Professor of Urology – University of Miami , Miller School of Medicine
Director of Fellowship:Female Urology,Voiding Dysfunction, Reconstruction
Memorial Hospital Miramar, South Broward Hospital District
1951 SW 172 Avenue, Suite 305,
Miramar, FL, 33029
Tel: 954-362-2720 Fax: 954-362-2761
www.bladder-health.net
