Haitian American Nurses Association (HANA) of Hudson Valley, New York. is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit nursing organization. HANA of Hudson Valley, New York, was founded in 2008 by Registered Nurse, Berthilde Dufrene, following a disastrous flood that took place in the northwestern region of Haiti. The need to create a nursing organization was necessary not only to reach out to the global community, but to also address the health and socioeconomic concerns in the immediate Rockland community. Since then, our members have participated in several missions around the world.
In 2008 Berthilde Dufrene, a Registered Nurse in Rockland County along with other nurses, saw a need to organize nurses of Haitian descent by establishing a nursing organization in Rockland, New York. She researched and found HANA of Florida. Ms. Dufrene reached out to the group and introduced the notion of expanding HANA to include the East Coast. In her quest to organize the nurses she founded HANA of Rockland County, New York, currently known as HANA of Hudson Valley, New York, Inc. It is worthwhile to mention that shortly after the creation of HANA of Rockland County; HANA of Greater New York was also founded under the guidance of Berthide Dufrene.
