Resident physician receives scholarship to care for patients in Haiti

January 31, 2018

Dr. Natalie Kuijpers, a chief resident of The University of Alabama Family Medicine Residency, has received a scholarship to provide patient care in Haiti. The residency is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences.

Kuijpers is one of only two family medicine residents in the US to receive the scholarship, which is awarded by the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. The foundation’s Family Medicine Cares International Program provides patient care, family medicine education and school and orphanage support to Haiti.

“Dr. Kuijpers will be part of the program’s Patient Care Team and will be providing direct patient care for the people of Haiti,” says Dr. Jane Weida, associate director of the residency.

Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, was devastated in 2010 by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. More than 100,000 perished in the first 60 seconds of the earthquake, and some 250,000 homes and 30,000 commercial buildings were destroyed or severely damaged. As many as 150,000 Haitians were still homeless as late as 2014.

The scholarship will cover all expenses for Kuijpers trip to Haiti. In addition, the scholarship will cover travel costs to the AAFP’s national conference in Kansas City in August 2018, where she will present highlights of her work in Haiti.