PIH’s Solar-Powered Mirebalais Hospital Opens in Haiti, Merging Innovative Design and Healthcare

<a title="http://www.pih.org/">Partners in Health</a>’s 200,000-square-foot <a href="http://inhabitat.com/hopital-universitaire-de-mirebalais-will-be-the-worlds-largest-solar-powered-hospital/">hospital in Mirebalais, Haiti</a> is set to officially open its doors on April 28th, boasting state of the art facilities and incredible sustainable design features. With an anticipated 500 patients per day, <a title="http://www.pih.org/pages/mirebalais">Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais</a> (HUM) will provide primary care services to over 185,000 people living in Mirebalais and its two neighboring communities. 80% of the country’s medical infrastructure was destroyed in the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/haiti-earthquake/">2012 earthquake</a>, so the hospital offers an opportunity to increase the standard of healthcare for thousands of Haitians while employing over 1,000 Haitian workers. Its primary care services include community health services, HIV/AIDS and TB care, care for noncommunicable diseases and prenatal care. HUM will also offer secondary and tertiary care to patients from Central Haiti and Port au Prince.

Not only is <a title="http://www.pih.org/pages/mirebalais">HUM</a> Central Haiti’s first-ever teaching hospital, it is the largest hospital in the world to be powered primarily with <a title="solar energy" href="http://inhabitat.com/hopital-universitaire-de-mirebalais-will-be-the-worlds-largest-solar-powered-hospital/" target="_blank">solar energy</a>.

In an area where power outages last for an average of 3 hours each day, the sun is a more reliable and cost-effective energy source. The array of 1800 <a href="http://inhabitat.com/solar-power/">solar panels</a> on the hospital’s roof produces up to 140 megawatt hours of electricity on a bright day. That is more than 100% of HUM’s daily energy requirements, allowing the excess amount to be fed into Haiti’s severely inadequate national power grid.

The spirit of sustainable innovation is evident in every aspect of the design: natural ventilation and <a href="http://inhabitat.com/daylighting/">lighting</a>; sun angles and roof overhangs; motion sensor lights; healing gardens and courtyards; as well as water-efficient plumbing and highly effective wastewater treatment.

Although cutting edge, the hospital remains remarkably Haitian - a wall of medallions crafted by local metalworkers frames the main entrance and the hospital is light and airy with open-air courtyards, gardens and waiting areas.

In addition to air movement, the hospital carefully considers the treatment of waste - an important response to the country’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9313_Haiti_cholera_outbreak">recent cholera epidemic</a>. The site includes its own wastewater treatment plant based on a system that utilizes simple mechanics and aerobic bacteria.

Ann Polanceczky reiterates one of the most striking aspects of the HUM project, stating: “The hospital is proof of what is possible in Haiti and that includes responsible wastewater treatment. We must protect the safety of the environment if we want to truly improve public health.”