Dr. Jeremiah Lowney

The Boivin Center for French Language and Culture at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth proudly presents its second program of the spring semester.  Dr. Jeremiah Lowney will present a talk on his thirty years of bringing health outreach to rural Haiti and this lecture will take place in the Grand Reading Room of the Claire T. Carney Library on the UMass Dartmouth campus on Monday, May 12, 2014 at 4PM.

Dr. Jeremiah Lowney is an orthodontist who has been in practice in Norwich, Connecticut since 1966.  A graduate of Tufts University, Temple University School of Dental Medicine, SUNY Buffalo and the University of Connecticut, Dr. Lowney has served in various capacities in the Connecticut Society of Orthodontists, the University Board of Trustees,  the Dempsey Hospital Board of Trustees, the Board of Governors for Higher Education, the New England Board of Education, and as Director of Peoples Bank, Bridgeport Connecticut. He is the recipeint of four honorary degrees and numerous honors including being knighted by Pope John Paul II as a Knight of St. Gregory in 1988.

For the past 32 years Dr. Lowney has devoted his time, talent, and treasure serving the poorest of the poor in southern Haiti.  In 1982, a short-term mission to provide dental care in that area soon became a lifelong passion to improve health, hope and dignity to the people of that region.  In 1985, he founded the Haitian Health Foundation to provide basic healthcare to the 200,000 people living in the Jeremie region along with the surrounding villages.  It started with a 27,00 square foot three story outpatient clinic.  It soon became apparent that that was not enough to solve all the problems of the people of the region.

In addition to healthcare, his foundation addresses the problem of childhood malnutrition, high risk pregnancies, maternal and pediatric care and has helped to found a school of nursing in Jeremie.  Returning to Haiti every three months for the past 25 years, Dr. Lowney, besides bringing medical and dental care, has established programs to benefit children and families including a sponsorship program, a house and latrine building program, animal distribution and school support.  His foundation has helped thousands of Haitian children and their families and has provided opportunities for praticum for graduate students from throughout the U.S.

The Foundation employs over 200 staff and operates with nearly a four million dollar operating budget with less that nine per cent overhead.  His youngest daughter has overseen the operation of his foundation since 1999.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Parking is available on campus in lot 13.

For further information, please contact Maria Sanguinetti at msanguinetti@umassd.edu.