Dr. Patrick Roche recently returned from a six month sabbatical to Haiti, where
he worked at the Hospital Albert Schweitzer.  Hospital Albert Schweitzer is a fifty year-old hospital system that serves the healthcare needs of almost 350,000 people who live in central Haiti.  Dr. and Mrs. Larimer Mellon founded it in 1956, after they read about Dr. Schweitzer and his work in Africa.  The couple lived and worked there until their deaths.

Dr. Roche considered going to other countries during his sabbatical, but he felt called to Haiti, which is felt to be the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  While there, he worked primarily in the area of internal medicine, treating tropical diseases and chronic medical conditions on the wards and in the clinics of the hospital.  During his stay in Haiti, Roche was able to teach and learn from the other medical staff there, some of whom were from Asia, Europe and North America. 

Recalling his trepidation over traveling to such a needy and sometimes dangerous place, he reflected:  “I was fortunate in my travels, and I feel blessed to be home again safely.  I have many good friends and fond memories from the time I spent there.  I had to practice (medicine) without many of the comforting technologies we use here in America, and, though I learned a lot, I saw great suffering and many patients die.  I feel very grateful to Mercer University for allowing me the time to live and work in Haiti. It restored my appreciation for much of what I had begun to take for granted.”

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