Dr Nathalie Laurent tragically lost her life at a time when the country is seriously lacking health personnel
Heavily armed bandits sowed chaos in Delmas 28 on the weekend of March 3.
To escape the storm of bullets, a couple fled urgently to Delmas 31.
As they rushed to return to their emergency accommodation on Monday March 4, several bullets fired by a bandit passed through their car in Delmas 24.
Seriously injured in the abdomen, the lady, Nathalie Laurent, was rushed to Bernard Mevs hospital: the center was closed.
The family runs to the OFATMA hospital in Cité-Militaire. But the anesthetist who had to urgently arrive at the hospital to carry out the surgical procedure had to turn back because of heavy gunfire on the road to the airport.
Read also: Haiti: hospitals overwhelmed by events
After numerous procedures, the victim was urgently transferred to another health structure in Fragneau-Ville.
But after nine days of hospitalization, her fight for life ended on March 12, 2024: the young doctor, Nathalie Laurent, died.
Dr Nathalie Laurent
“It is an unbearable ordeal to helplessly witness the loss of a loved one before your own eyes,” Jean Rosvald Laurent, husband of the victim, told AyiboPost.
A doctor at Grace Children’s Hospital in Delmas 31, Nathalie Laurent still refused to leave her country. This “tragically exposed him to insecurity,” says his husband.
After nine days of hospitalization, her fight for life ended on March 12, 2024: the young doctor, Nathalie Laurent, died.
Born in Gonaïves in 1977, Laurent devoted nearly sixteen years of her professional life to serving Haiti.
The only child in her family, she completed her secondary education in her hometown before pursuing higher studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the Lumière University in Port-au-Prince between 1997 and 2004.
In December 2013, Laurent married lawyer Jean Rosvald Laurent, member of the Mirebalais Bar Association.
His professional commitments are multiple. Laurent, for example, worked at the Cholera Treatment Center (CTC) of Médecins Sans Frontières in Martissant or as a member of the medical staff of the Church of God in Delmas 17.
Read also: Pictures | Eight days of terror in Haiti
Nadia Leblanc Jeanty, nurse and long-time work companion of the deceased at Grace Children’s Hospital for nearly twelve years, struggles to contain the extent of her sadness.
“Throughout my years as a nurse, I have never met such a tireless doctor,” she confides, emphasizing the “exemplary” dedication of Nathalie Laurent. “She provided care marked by unparalleled tenderness, treating each patient with a concern worthy of members of her own family.”
Stéphane Michel, doctor present on the scene at the time of Laurent’s admission to the OFATMA hospital, reacted in shock at this news.
“It is a situation which describes the magnitude of a context in Haiti where no one is spared,” said Dr. Michel who regrets that health professionals have no structure “or available resources that could come to our aid. rescue when needed to provide timely health care.”
Born in Gonaïves in 1977, Laurent devoted nearly sixteen years of her professional life to serving Haiti.
Described as a person who never gave up despite the situation in the country, Dr Nathalie Laurent has passed the weapon to the left at a time when the country is cruelly lacking in health personnel.
Read also: Their teachers leave Haiti, UEH medical students face the test of online courses
Well before the acceleration of insecurity in 2021, studies reported that 40% of doctors trained in Haiti had fled the country. 13% of them find refuge in the United States.
In a 2017 report, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the country has on average 5.9 doctors or nurses, and 6.5 health professionals for every 10,000 inhabitants. These figures are very far from the minimum recommendations of the international organization.
“It’s a loss for the medical community, for Haiti, for the family, and it’s only regret, in a country where nothing works,” declares with frustration her partner, Jean Rosvald Laurent.
The lawyer does not even plan to file a complaint, because, according to him, it would be a “useless act”.
The State “failed in its mission”, he concluded to AyiboPost.
Cover image: doctor Nathalie Lawrence. | © His Facebook account
Keep in touch with AyiboPost via:
► Our channel Telegram : Click here
► Our Channel WhatsApp : Click here
► Our Community WhatsApp : Click here
