Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope
Fonds-Parisien, Haiti
Please Join Us in HaitiWe need help from both medical and non-medical people alike, but our work in Haiti is best-suited for those who want to help on a scale that is massive. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and the need there is unimaginable. Week-long trips are scheduled every January, April, July & October.
AboutThe Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope, which recently opened in December 2016, is located on the campus of Haitian Christian Mission in Fonds-Parisien, Haiti, an isolated village in eastern Haiti approximately eight miles from the Haiti/Dominican Republic border.
Each quarter, Dr. Higgins brings mission teams (both medical and non-medical participants) to the facility and performs approximately 75 procedures each trip. Dr. Higgins is also training Haitian resident doctors and staff to run the facility independently, as a critical component of his mission is promoting a sustainable culture in Haiti and reducing foreigner dependency. |
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History
For the past 25 years, Dr. Ted Higgins has been traveling to remote areas in some of the most under-served countries in the world to provide life-saving surgical procedures to people who otherwise would have no hope. These countries include Africa, Dominican Republic and Haiti.
In 2010, Higgins decided to concentrate his efforts on helping the single poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – Haiti. It was also a country he knew and loved. “My wife Kim and I fell in love with Haiti in 1981 during my three-month residency rotation at Hospital Albert Schweitzer in DesChapelles, Haiti,” said Higgins. “We were so moved by the dichotomy of Haiti’s marvelous beauty and culture contrasted by such extreme and unimaginable poverty and need."
Higgins began taking multiple surgical trips each year to Fonds-Parisian, an isolated village in eastern Haiti approximately eight miles from the Haiti/Dominican border. Over the next six years, he performed more than 1,500 life-saving surgeries in a cinderblock baby-delivery building on the campus of Haitian Christian Mission. He quickly recognized that the needs of the people far surpassed what could be accomplished in the dated facility. Higgins funded and built the Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope, which opened doors on December 10, 2016.
This facility provides surgeons from Haiti and abroad the medical equipment, lighting, HVAC required to save the lives of many underserved people. Higgins named the surgical center in honor of his father Edward Higgins and uncle Paul Higgins, both once involved in providing international medical care.
Higgins attended medical school at State University of New York Health Science Center. He completed his residency at Yale New Haven Hospital and his fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center. He has served as instructor of surgery for Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Higgins has been honored as Doctor of the Year (Ingrams, 2005 and 2007), Doctor of Distinction (Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Medical Society, 2007), Distinguished Alumni (St. Lawrence University), and Kansas City Super Doctor (Kansas City Magazine, 2008). He is board-certified in surgery.
In 2010, Higgins decided to concentrate his efforts on helping the single poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – Haiti. It was also a country he knew and loved. “My wife Kim and I fell in love with Haiti in 1981 during my three-month residency rotation at Hospital Albert Schweitzer in DesChapelles, Haiti,” said Higgins. “We were so moved by the dichotomy of Haiti’s marvelous beauty and culture contrasted by such extreme and unimaginable poverty and need."
Higgins began taking multiple surgical trips each year to Fonds-Parisian, an isolated village in eastern Haiti approximately eight miles from the Haiti/Dominican border. Over the next six years, he performed more than 1,500 life-saving surgeries in a cinderblock baby-delivery building on the campus of Haitian Christian Mission. He quickly recognized that the needs of the people far surpassed what could be accomplished in the dated facility. Higgins funded and built the Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope, which opened doors on December 10, 2016.
This facility provides surgeons from Haiti and abroad the medical equipment, lighting, HVAC required to save the lives of many underserved people. Higgins named the surgical center in honor of his father Edward Higgins and uncle Paul Higgins, both once involved in providing international medical care.
Higgins attended medical school at State University of New York Health Science Center. He completed his residency at Yale New Haven Hospital and his fellowship at Baylor University Medical Center. He has served as instructor of surgery for Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Higgins has been honored as Doctor of the Year (Ingrams, 2005 and 2007), Doctor of Distinction (Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Medical Society, 2007), Distinguished Alumni (St. Lawrence University), and Kansas City Super Doctor (Kansas City Magazine, 2008). He is board-certified in surgery.
Help Save Lives at Home
Higgins Brothers Surgicenter for Hope asks for your help in saving lives. Please go online and register (or re-register) to be an organ donor:
- Kansas: https://www.donatelifekansas.com/
- Missouri: https://www.missouriorgandonor.com/