	Why POC? POC provides the full range of orthopaedic and ancillary services including MRI, surgical facilities and physical therapy. Find out why POC is the preferred choice for so many Atlantans.
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POC Foundations

POC Foundation

In honor of the lifelong volunteer work of POC founding member F. James Funk Jr., M.D., the Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic Foundation (the philanthropic entity for private fundraising initiatives) supports the clinic’s long-standing humanitarian efforts in Haiti. Since 1957, POC doctors have donated time and supplies providing orthopaedic care to impoverished Haitians. Read more at The Haiti Connection.

You Can Help

The POC Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation. We appreciate your contributions. The POC Foundation is accepting donations to defer costs for relief efforts (which are greater than ever due to the 2010 earthquake) and to provide ongoing support to St. Vincent’s Centre for Handicapped Children and the Maison d'Enfants par la Foi Orphanage. To donate, please contact Hamano Ross at hross@pocatlanta.com. Thank you!

POC's Support of Haiti Continues to Grow

In addition to the time and supplies POC physicians have donated providing orthopaedic care to thousands of impoverished Haitians, the POC Foundation is also proud and honored to support the following organizations:

St. Vincent’s Centre for Handicapped Children

St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children was started by Sister Joan Margaret, SSM, in 1945. At the time of its opening there was no schooling available for disabled children, who were often abandoned and left for dead. Sister Joan found such a child, a young blind baby, who had been completely abandoned and took him home to the convent. Eventually a school was established, which grew from a few children being taught under a tree to its current total of over 450 students, including 170 boarders.

In 1952, while serving as Chief Resident at Children’s Hospital in Boston, Dr. Funk received a letter from Sister Joan Margaret asking for donations of broken crutches, braces and wheelchairs. Intrigued, Dr. Funk made a visit to Sister Joan and St. Vincent’s School and saw first-hand the lack of medical care available to the handicapped children. In response, Dr. Funk established a program in which he traveled to Haiti annually to treat patients and perform much-needed surgery. Sister Joan Margaret introduced Dr. Funk to Dr. W. Larimer Mellon, Jr. (whose great-uncle was the industrialist Andrew Mellon), whose life was influenced by the medical missionary Albert Schweitzer. Dr. Mellon spent his inheritance building the Hospital Albert Schweitzer, at which POC physicians have seen patients since 1957 — and thus POC’s “Haiti Connection” was born.

All the students attending St. Vincent’s are handicapped in some way: blind, deaf, confined to a wheel chair, or needing crutches or braces. However, all students attend classes and are taught to work with their disabilities while continuing to achieve the education they need for future success. Academic courses are offered for the first nine years at St. Vincent’s. The courses are broken up into three cycles of three years concluding with a national exam taken at the end of a student’s sixth and ninth year to determine graduation from each cycle. Students of St. Vincent’s study reading, writing, history, geography, mathematics, English, art and music.

St. Vincent’s also houses a medical clinic that treats about 500 patients a month, a physical therapy department, an eye clinic and the only brace shop in all of Haiti. The brace shop at St. Vincent’s makes (and remakes) braces to order. Many of the workers in the brace shop are former deaf students who graduated from St. Vincent’s. To learn more, visit www.friendsofstvincents.org.

House of Children by Faith (An Orphanage in Carrefour, Haiti)

The children of Maison d'Enfants par la Foi.

In 1985 during a close brush with death during childbirth, Célianie Valmond made a request to God to spare her life and that of her infant son and, in turn, she would devote her time to help others less fortunate, especially children. Célianie’s father, Pastor Jean Polistin, was already very involved in helping children – he ran an orphanage for abandoned children who had been living on the streets and also those who had been forced into child labor. Other children had been brought to MEF by their own parents, who simply could not afford to take care of them. Pastor Polistin used the parsonage (church house) to house these abandoned and orphaned children. Under the direction of Célianie, the institution officially became Maison d'Enfants par la Foi (MEF) (House of Children by Faith) in 1988 and housed 32 children. The orphanage grew rapidly as some outside organizations offered support for food, education, social activities and the construction of sleeping quarters, a dining area and kitchen. Members of Célianie’s family provided initial financial support for the orphanage.

Maison d'Enfants par la Foi required recognition from the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR), a tedious and lengthy process that was finalized in 2008. MEF is now home to 126 children. Célianie and the small staff continue to look for ways to raise funds to provide for the basic needs of the children, including education and medical care. However, MEF now faces a greater challenge: due to Pastor Polistin’s recent illness, MEF must vacate the parsonage by July 2012. They are in the process of securing land and will need funds to build; this will allow 126 orphaned and abandoned Haitian children to relocate to the new facility.

Georgia Shoulder and Elbow Foundation

The Georgia Shoulder and Elbow Foundation was formed in 2010. This is a fairly new foundation for Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic and we will post more information as the foundation establishes.

To make an appointment, please call 404-355-0743.