Archives for July 2015

July 24, 2015

ICHF Añade Lima, Perú, al calendario de misiones para el 2015 en adelante

International Children’s Heart Foundation, una organización sin fines de lucro, con base en Memphis, dedicada a cuidar y a curar niños con cardiopatías congénitas alrededor del mundo, ha anunciado que sumará Lima, Perú, a la lista de misiones médicas, a partir de este año. El equipo viajara a Lima entre el 5 al 19 de Diciembre.

ICHF trabajará directamente con los profesionales de salud del Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño para realizar cirugías, así como también proporcionar educación y recursos clínicos de primer nivel. A partir de 2016, ICHF hará tres viajes al año, enviando un equipo de profesionales cada tres o cuatro meses. Si bien es importante que ICHF es capaz de ayudar en cirugías para salvar vidas en estos viajes, el equipo se enfocará en el entrenamiento y educación de los profesionales del INSN, de manera que ellos puedan seguir trabajando con altos estándares después del término de cada misión.

Perú es un país de 30 millones de personas, con una tasa bruta de natalidad de 18,5 por ciento. Sobre la base de una prevalencia del 0,8 por ciento de las cardiopatías congénitas en el Perú, cada año aproximadamente 4.300 niños nacen con problemas al corazón. De ellos, 50 por ciento requerirá algún tipo de intervención quirúrgica para sobrevivir. INSN tiene un programa de cirugía cardiaca pediátrica establecido que realiza más de 100 casos al año. Sin embargo, el hospital quiere mejorar los resultados y la capacidad del personal para hacer frente a los casos más complejos de forma rutinaria. La Dr. Wieslawa de Pawlikowski del INSN contacto ICHF para explorar la posibilidad de una asistencia clínica y de equipamiento para lograr estos objetivos, ICHF gustoso esta respondiendo a esta solicitud.

“Agregar Lima a nuestra agenda 2015 – 2016, es un testimonio del interés del equipo de ICHF y de todos sus voluntarios de proveer asistencia a los niños portadores de cardiopatías congénitas, y a los profesionales que cuidan de estos pacientes en todo el mundo,” dijo el Dr. Rodrigo Soto, Director Ejecutivo de Operaciones Clínicas para ICHF. “Estamos encantados de que el INSN nos contactara, y estamos muy ansiosos por ayudar a desarrollar el programa cardioquirúrgico en dicho hospital.”

Más allá de viajar a estos países para llevar a cabo cirugías para salvar vidas y educar al personal, ICHF también proporciona los equipos necesarios para las instalaciones, así como la estructura organizativa de los servicios cardiopediátricos, es además una constante fuente de consulta por un período indefinido de tiempo. Para el viaje a Perú, el equipo de ICHF estará asegurando la donación de varias piezas de equipo médico a la unidad de cardiocirugía e intensivo cardiovascular del INSN, incluyendo una máquina corazón-pulmón, un intercambiador de calor, cuatro ventiladores pediátricos para la unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátricos y cuatro monitores con control de la presión invasiva para la unidad de intermedio cardiovascular. Todo este equipo está valorado en $ 69,300 USD.

ICHF tiene 22 años de historia de la prestación de servicios cardiopediátricos, la educación y el desarrollo de programas en más de 30 países de todo el mundo, habiendo operado a 7.548 niños durante este tiempo. El éxito de estos programas se ha traducido en cerca de 20 países que han desarrollado o están en vías de mejorar sus programas cardíoquirúrgicos.

International Children’s Heart Foundation Adds Lima, Peru, to Mission Calendar for 2015 and Beyond

The International Children’s Heart Foundation, a Memphis-based nonprofit dedicated to caring for and curing children with congenital heart disease in developing areas across the globe, has announced that it will add Lima, Peru, to the list of annual medical mission trips, starting this year with a team traveling there Dec. 5 to 19.

ICHF will work directly with health care professionals at Instituto Nacional de Salud del Nino to perform surgeries, as well as provide premier clinical education and resources. Beginning in 2016, ICHF will be making three trips per year, sending a team every three to four months. While it is important that ICHF is able to assist in life-saving surgeries on these trips, the team is ultimately focused on educating INSN personnel so that they can continue to save children’s lives after the ICHF team returns home.

Peru is a country of 30 million people with a crude birth rate of 18.5 percent. Based on a prevalence of 0.8 percent of congenital heart disease in Peru, each year approximately 4,300 children are born with CHD. Of those, 50 percent will require some kind of surgical intervention to survive. INSN has an established pediatric cardiac surgical program performing more than 100 cases a year. However, the hospital wants to improve outcomes and the capability of staff to address more complex cases on a routine basis. Dr. Wieslawa de Pawlikowski of INSN contacted ICHF to explore the possibility of collaboration to achieve these goals, and ICHF quickly obliged.

“Adding Lima, Peru, to our trip roster for 2015 and beyond is a testament to the value that our team and volunteers provide to patients and health care staff across the globe,” said Dr. Rodrigo Soto, CEO of clinical operations for ICHF. “We were thrilled that INSN sought out our partnership, and we are very eager to help develop the program and personnel there at the hospital.”

Beyond traveling to these countries to perform life-saving surgeries and to educate staff, ICHF also provides needed equipment to the facilities, as well as organizational structure for the pediatric cardiac services and a constant source of consultation for an indefinite amount of time. For the trip to Peru, the ICHF team will be securing the donation of several pieces of medical equipment to the pediatric cardiology unit at INSN, including a heart lung bypass machine, a heater cooler, four pediatric ventilators for the pediatric intensive care unit and four monitors with invasive pressure monitoring for the step-down unit. All of this equipment is valued at $69,300 USD.

ICHF has a 22-year history of providing pediatric cardiac services, education and program development in more than 30 countries around the world, operating on 7,548 children during this time. The success of these programs has resulted in nearly 20 countries either developing or improving their pediatric cardiac programs.

July 23, 2015

Trip recap: Babyheart team completes second successful medical mission in Georgetown, Guyana

The Babyheart team, including 17 volunteers, recently returned from its second two-week medical mission to Georgetown, Guyana. As ICHF works to establish a world-class pediatric cardiac unit at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, education was once again a big focus during the trip. The team also performed several surgically complex procedures, including two patients who would not have survived until the next planned trip.

Making strides in education with local medical staff

The weekend before the trip, ICHF held two teaching days with the ICU nurses and pediatricians. There was a great attendance with about 30 local staff there each day. ICHF also held a mid-trip training session for nurses and provided hands-on training in all specialties throughout the two weeks. It is our hope that through more training, equipment and other resources, local medical teams will be able to save more children with congenital heart defects. It’s essential when urgent complex surgical procedures arise, as evidenced on this trip.

“We are extremely pleased with the progress the local team has made. They have made great strides to improve certain aspects of the program since the first trip, and all specialties have made an effort to improve their areas. This was especially seen with the ICU nurses, who dedicated their days off to coming in for training sessions. As an educator, this is extremely exciting and motivating to see.” – Randa Blenden, PICU nurse educator and medical trip coordinator for ICHF

Babyheart team performs complex surgeries

With only eight surgical days available during the trip, due to limited anesthesia coverage, the team was still able to complete 12 surgeries. Some of those included a 6.5 kg Tetralogy of Fallot and three Glenn procedures in single ventricle patients, which were a first for Guyana. At the end of the trip, all but one patient had returned home! To date, the Babyheart team has now provided care to 31 patients in Guyana.

ICHF, Ministry of Health and Georgetown Public Hospital share vision

Guyana’s Minister of Public Health, Hon. Dr. George Norton, visited the unit to check in on how our surgeries and education efforts were going. He also hosted a press conference at the end of the trip, and we were honored to be invited and recognized at that time. The press conference was a great benefit to ICHF and helped to reinforce the commitment of all parties involved in this project.

The next trip to Guyana is scheduled for Nov. 21 through Dec. 5, and ICHF is aiming to complete four trips to the country in 2016. If you are interested in supporting our Guyana program, please consider donating or volunteering! As we continue to build a sustainable pediatric cardiac care unit at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, we hope you’ll join us in our mission to save more children’s lives!

July 5, 2015

Volunteer Spotlight: Dr. Intikhab Zafurallah, PICU Intensivist

I grew up in Guyana and did my undergraduate training and subsequently, my internship at the Georgetown Hospital. During my training, I walked these hospital wards, and it was the first place I fell in love with the practise of paediatrics.

It was indeed very upsetting to see the babies and children with congenital heart disease and those with complications of rheumatic heart diseases and cardiac complications of congenital rubella syndrome progressively becoming blue and dying.

After completing my training, I was determined to make a difference in the health of children, but was unsure of where this would happen. I have practised in a few Caribbean countries and subsequently moved to England, where I initially specialised in Paediatrics then subspecialised in Paediatric Intensive Care, working in some of the largest children’s hospital critical care units. I also did my fellowship in Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

During my sub-specialisation, I became heavily involved in charity work, volunteering as the cardiac intensivist for the London based Chain of Hope, which conducts open-heart surgeries while focusing on training local teams. I have volunteered in a number of countries included Egypt, Uganda, Mozambique, Kosovo, Trinidad and Jamaica on multiple occasions.

Volunteering for ICHF’s first medical mission to Guyana

I was always keeping my eye on Guyana, but unfortunately, no one was venturing to this country to conduct any surgeries, and it was heart breaking to hear of the growing list of kids and families desperate for help. Whilst in Toronto, I heard about ICHF and we had some exchanges, but I was unable to attend any of their missions.

When they emailed me about Guyana, to let me know they were conducting a site visit, I was super excited but nervous for Guyana, as I was unsure of the set up for such a major undertaking.

Shortly after, I was contacted to confirm the inaugural mission had been scheduled. I had never worked with any of the ICHF team, so I was excited for multiple reason to meet this team that I’d heard a lot about and even more excited to be returning to Guyana to help with the management of these kids – a lifelong dream, from medical school days to making blue babies pink again!

I arrived for the second week of the trip, and was impressed beyond words with the set up of the intensive care. Indeed there was much work to be done and much more for us to do, but having worked in other countries on multiple occasion and comparing to what Guyana / ICHF has done, it was impressive.

The team I met was absolutely welcoming, and within a few minutes, I felt as I’d known them and worked with them before. It really does make a difference having a cohesive and experienced team in these intense environments with all focus being on the development of the local team, the kids and their families, and this is what I experienced immediately.

The team worked tirelessly to ensure a first world level care was delivered at all levels to these children and their families. The local team needed significant support, as it was overwhelming for many, but you can see the relief on their faces having experienced nurses, doctors, an RT and a biomedical engineer at their side.

I was really impressed and so happy that we were able to discharged all the kids on this mission with good outcomes and to also ensure we were able to conduct training.

I look forward to the privilege of working with Team Baby Heart again in the future.

July 4, 2015

Canadians with heart help Guyanese children

On April 25, 2015, ICHF made its very first heart surgery mission trip to Guyana. Held at Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, and through a close collaboration with the Ministry of Health of Guyana, we completed 14 surgeries and six diagnostic heart catheterizations.

We also had an incredible group of international volunteers, including a team from Canada led by Dr. Debra Isaac. Dr. Isaac began her work in Guyana in 2012 and realized quickly how big the need for training was among physicians and healthcare staff there.

Now, Dr. Isaac and our Canadian volunteers, including longtime volunteer Steve Taylor, are helping us spread the word in Halifax! The Halifax Chronicle Herald spoke with Dr. Isaac and Steve about their work in the country. Read the story here.