As expectant mothers poured into Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM), the weight of need began to put pressure on the maternity department. Mothers with a child in the neonatal intensive care unit had limited options while they waited for their baby’s health to improve. Walking around the hospital revealed mothers with their belongings in bags in makeshift beds pressed along the edges of the sidewalk. In addition to shelter, HUM also desperately needed expanded hygiene facilities. Growing patient numbers rendered the present number of toilets and showers inadequate.

As a result, Partners in Health asked BHI to design and implement a multi-purpose facility that would combine two separate buildings: a maternal waiting home and a public sanitation block. The maternal home has space for 70 women and children to stay comfortably while waiting to deliver or for their child’s recovery. The 4,000 square foot Mother's Home and Sanitation Block Facility now provides outpatients and their families with bathrooms, showers, and includes a communal laundry area for women.