National media focus on Haitian nursing school with Ann Arbor ties

Initial news reports out of Leogane, Haiti, reveal the nursing school with Ann Arbor ties was one of few buildings to remain standing following the 7 magnitude quake Jan. 12.

Eyewitnesses are reporting up to 80 percent of the town was leveled, and thousands are streaming to the school seeking medical help. They have no where else to go; it's become a refugee camp, national news media outlets are reporting.

Aid finally reached the professional nursing school, Faculty of Nursing Science of the Episcopal University of Haiti, and the town of Leogane on Monday.

Supplies and medical personnel reached Leogane, Haiti, nearly a week after the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the nation. The country's only four-year nursing school is also the only medical facility in the town and one of few buildings in the area to survive.

Photo courtesy of Haiti Nursing Foundation

Ann Arbor resident Ruth Barnard, a University of Michigan associate professor emeritus of nursing, co-founded the school with the support of her church, the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, and others. First Presbyterian sends two medical missions to the area each year. An Ann Arbor-based foundation helps to fund the school.

Leogane is 20 miles west of Port-au-Prince and 10 miles west of the epicenter of the quake.

National media have taken note of the city's situation.

An ABC News report notes the quake also left a nearby hospital, but that hospital has been out of service for two years.

A CNN reporter discusses the situation in Leogane from the nursing school's lobby in this video.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter