Tulane: Med student shot, wounded in Haiti armed robbery

NEW ORLEANS – A medical student from Tulane who was in Haiti as part of a school program to promote maternal and child health was shot and wounded during an armed robbery, the university said.

Marc Kahn Sr. Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs at the Tulane School of Medicine said in a statement Friday that the student was shot in the hand and chest in Port au Prince on Thursday.

The student — identified as Bhumi Patel — was flown to a hospital in Miami.

“She has been able to communicate with her family and appears to be in relatively good spirits,” he said.

Kahn said Patel had finished her first year of medical school and was part of a program at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to promote maternal and child health in Haiti.

Eight other Tulane students are enrolled in the program. One of the other students was with Patel during the robbery, Kahn said.

“Tulane is reaching out to the other victim of this terrible crime as well as all students involved in this program in order to ensure their safety and emotional well-being. Please keep Bhumi and her fellow students enrolled in this program in your thoughts and prayers,” he said.