By Ted Hodges

There is a new addition being constructed at Hopital Sacre Coeur. It is the beginning of the first dedicated women’s health center in Haiti. The new construction will house a new maternity wing consisting of a fully-equipped operating room, four active labor beds, two warming tables, and a sizable storage room to be used for maternity and the second floor of the hospital.

Innovative Composites Incorporated (ICI) is responsible for the construction of the new addition. ICI specializes in designing products made from lightweight, weatherproof composite. The ideas for the products created at ICI came from former automotive engineers who wanted to apply automotive polymer techniques to the construction industry.

After Hurricane Katrina, ICI designed an emergency shelter prototype that could be assembled by two people in 45 minutes. This design project paved the way into other quick-assembly construction endeavors. The new hospital addition is made of an aluminum frame and interlocking, sandwich panels. The sandwich panels consist of two composite sheets that are filled with an insulating foam.

This design from ICI is ideal for Haiti because the durable, pre-fabricated panels are weatherproof and earthquake-proof. The construction is being completed by local workers. ICI Vice President of Engineering, Jerry Olszewski, and Chief Designer of Housing Products, Jonathan Lane, have come to Milot to oversee the project.