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Dr. Pier Boutin and her adopted daughter, Soumya, had just found out that a 6.8 earthquake had rocked Soumya’s village in Morocco, and they had no way to get in touch with her family there.
But Pier Boutin, an orthopedic surgeon practicing in Great Barrington and who took the first team to Haiti after its 2010 earthquake, isn’t one to sit still. By Saturday morning, she and Soumya had a plan. They would go to the Atlas Mountains and see what they could do. READ MORE
Local woman returns home to the Atlas Mountains bringing earthquake relief | The Berkshire Edge | September 28, 2023 by Hannah Van Sickle
Using her eponymous nonprofit as a fundraising platform, Soumya has endeavored to assist her village in meeting goals that run the gamut from supplying critical medical care and basic necessities to securing access to clean water and rebuilding the village of Armed.
Soumya Ait Hazem Boutin was born and raised in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where she lived until five years ago, when she came to the Berkshires to get an education. Earlier this month, when a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Al Haouz province, Soumya’s village of Armed was decimated: Every single house was either reduced to rubble or rendered uninhabitable, the sole road out blocked by detritus. READ MORE
INTERVIEW: WAMC MIDDAY MAGAZINE | September 12, 2023
A first-year student at UMass Amherst with strong ties to our region is leaving for Morocco Wednesday to reconnect with family and help set up a medical clinic.
On September 8th, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Morocco, leveling Soumya Boutin's village in the Atlas Mountains. READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW: THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE | March 30, 2023 by Bill Everhart
A vacation trip to Morocco with three girlfriends buoyed Dr. Pier Boutin's spirits — and changed her life.
An interview with Pier and her family about travels to Morocco and bringing Little Mo and Soumya home to the Berkshires.
The Little Mo Effect | The Berkshire Edge | December 17, 2022 by Alan Chartock
I PUBLIUS: We are lucky to have Dr. Pier Boutin living here in Great Barrington with us
I never fail to find it amazing that here in these Berkshire hills of ours we can find extraordinary people with fascinating stories to tell. There’s probably one such person right around the corner from you.
INTERVIEW: WOMEN ON FIRE | May 2020
Live Chat Masterclass May 2020
Doctor in the House Q&A with Dr. Pier Boutin
Pier’s session is filled with the most timely and valuable information for you and your family to stay healthy during COVID-19.
If you missed being with us live, be sure to watch the replay to learn which five supplements are best to prepare and bolster your immune system over these next months.
INTERVIEW: WOMEN ON FIRE | November 2019
Pier shares practical and helpful information on the many aspects of bone health. Who knew for every 10 pounds you lose, it reduces 60 pounds of pressure from your knees?! In addition to Pier’s medical knowledge and wisdom, we learned about her deeply moving story of Little Mo and his sister Soumya, her “children” from Morocco, whose lives have been changed for the better because of her love, dedication and expertise. Humble as she is, she would say it’s her life that has been changed forever!
“Dear Debbie, I just listened to Pier’s great interview! Love her and love you - both a shining examples of great intelligence along with such a down-to-earth way of communicating helpful information! WOW! Sending love”
NPR Station WAMC Northeast Public Radio MEDICAL MONDAY | July 2019
Dr. Pier Boutin, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with over 25 years of experience, joins Medical Monday to discuss orthopedics and osteoporosis. WAMC's Brian Shields hosts.
YOU CAN'T STOP A WOMAN ON FIRE | By Debbie Phillips | Women on Fire | 2011
"... Pier Boutin, of Housatonic, Massachusetts, was hiking in a mountainous village in Morocco last year when her eye caught the tiny figures of a little boy stumbling and his five-year-old sister helping him up as he fell down with each step... The little boy had a serious and debilitating case of “club feet” and Pier, a mother and an orthopedic surgeon, was drawn to this little boy and knew she had to do something."
SAVING LIVES WITH JUST THE TOOLS AT HAND | By Maria Sacchetti | The Boston Globe | 2010
"...Haiti’s General Hospital, crippled by Tuesday’s earthquake, had only a skeleton staff of volunteers, dwindling supplies, and a makeshift operating room that sprang into action yesterday for the first time since the devastating 7.0-magnitude quake.
LOCAL NURSE ASSISTS IN HAITI LIFESAVING AMPUTATIONS | Easy Reader News | 2010
"...(Debra) Hawk has been an anesthetist for the past 18 years. She had just ended her work day when the call came the night after the Jan. 12 quake... Massachusetts-based orthopedic surgeon Dr. Pier Boutin, with whom Hawk had formerly worked at a hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, was putting together a medical team that included a handful of orthopedic surgeons and critical care doctors to go to Port au Prince.
LOCAL COUPLE PROVIDES MEDICAL RELIEF FOR GRIEVING HAITIANS | By Derek Gentile | The Berkshire Eagle | 2010
"Imagine arriving in a country devoid of food, water, electricity or basic sanitation. Imagine that the country has, essentially, no hospitals, no roads -- in fact, no real infrastructure at all. Then imagine that you and your small team of medical professionals have to somehow try to help the people of that country... It is almost unimaginable."