Dr. Colleen O'Connell has healing hands...literally. Since founding Team Canada Healing Hands (TCHH) in 2003, Dr. O'Connell has been in Haiti providing training, mentorship and hands-on rehabilitation care to her Haitian colleagues and their patients.

The Canadian Medical Foundation recognized Dr. O'Connell's work with a recent grant to TCCH to increase the capacity of post-earthquake rehab care in Haiti.

The CMF grant provides TCHH with funding to send ten Canadian physicians to Haiti throughout 2010. These spinal cord injury and complex rehabilitation specialists will offer mentorship, guidance as well as hands-on care.

"Those ten Physicians will be distributed between two inpatient sites and one outpatient/outreach site," says Dr. O'Connell. "Each site will have approximately 15 health care workers. Later in the year, the physicians will be used in other roles, including dealing with outpatients, where they may see 40-50 patients a day."

"You can hand out dollars, you can hand out drugs, you can hand out equipment. But none of that makes a lasting impact as working towards education," says Dr. O'Connell. "We are seeing a difference. The people of Haiti haven't given up on themselves, why should we?".

CMF supports Team Canada Healing Hands because of it's clear focus on education and the sustainability of the expertise provided to Haitian physicians and caregivers.

Prior to the earthquake, more than 800,000 Haitians had some form of disability. Like many developing countries, in Haiti a simple cut on the foot can lead to amputation. There is a high incidence of stroke and cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus is prevalent in children.

Team Canada Healing Hands in partnership with Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation, has a solid track record in Haiti, with more than 45 staff working at their clinic and disability programs. Luckily, although the clinic was destroyed, everyone there survived.

Training rehab specialists has always been a priority for TCHH and it paid off. Rehab specialists working with TCHH were better equipped to handle the sudden and immediate need brought on by the earthquake.

"Team Canada Healing Hands has proven results in Haiti." says CMF Chair Dr. Henry Haddad. "CMF, on behalf of all our donors, is proud to share with TCHH as they continue to bring Canadian compassion and medical care to the deserving people of Haiti."