Guyana - International Children's Heart Foundation

April 24, 2017

Memphis Surgeon Travels to Guyana on Latest BabyHeart Mission

Meet Dr. Umar Boston, a Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgeon at Le BonHeur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. He recently joined the BabyHeart team in Georgetown, Guyana where, thanks to him and a team of international volunteers, 13 children received life-saving surgeries.

This is the 3rd BabyHeart mission that Dr. Boston has joined, but what makes this even more special is that Guyana is where Dr. Boston was born. Knowing that he is helping meet the need for medical care for children with congenital heart disease in developing countries while helping the local team establish a sustainable pediatric cardiac program motivates him to volunteer.

Dr Boston surgery — Dr. Marisa Seepersaud (left) works with Dr. Boston (right) to perform surgery in Guyana.

By far the most meaningful aspects of going on this mission were being able to use the education and skills he has acquired over the years to give back to the people of his birth country and also being able to reunite with family he had not seen in over 35 years. We are so grateful to have the participation of Dr. Boston, and we look forward to his next trip with us!

Find out how you can help provide life-saving treatment to children with CHD in Guyana and countries all over the world.

July 26, 2016

Arvin Rampersaud

Here is a great example of how your support truly saves lives!

During our last trip to Guyana, we met 7-month old Arvin Rampersaud and his favorite brown toy horse. He was born in the town of Albion, where his parents are both gardeners. He was transferred to Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after his parents rushed him to a local hospital when he was having difficulty breathing. An echocardiogram showed that Arvin suffered from a severe form of Tetralogy of Fallot, which ultimately meant he did not have enough oxygenated blood circulating through his body

During a diagnostic catheterization study, Arvin’s oxygen levels became dangerously low, and he had to be rushed to the operating room for an emergency surgery. Team BabyHeart was in the right place at the right time thanks to your support, and they were able to place a shunt between the vessels of his heart that helped to increase the blood flow to the lungs, and saved his life! Had the BabyHeart team not been at GPHC training the local team, Arvin surely would have died. This shows the importance of the goal of helping the local team increase the capacity to treat local children born with cardiac defects

Arvin is continuing to improve with his trusty toy horse by his side, and his oxygen levels are good, but he will still need one or two more surgeries to completely fix his heart when he gets a little older. None of this would be possible without your generosity. Your support makes miracles happen!

March 26, 2016

Trip Recap: BabyHeart Team Begins Second Year of Georgetown, Guyana Program with a 4th Successful Mission

The BabyHeart team recently returned from the first of three trips to Georgetown, Guyana this year with another successful mission. During this latest mission, 15 children received life-saving surgeries, and 5 children received proper diagnosis of their condition with a heart catheterization. Just a few days after the team’s departure, all children had been discharged home and are doing well.

Saving Lives with Volunteers from Around the World

We had 22 volunteers unite from the United States, Canada, Chile and Italy to contribute to the successes of this trip. Because of all their hard work, made possible by your generous donations, we have now accomplished 57 surgeries, 19 heart caths and have maintained a 0% mortality rate. This will go far in helping to decrease Guyana’s current infant mortality rate (34 out of 1,000 live births), knowing that Congenital Heart Defects are the most common severe birth defect worldwide. In addition to the life-saving surgeries, we were also able to supply Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) with key surgical supplies for other surgical specialties including general surgery, neurosurgery, and the ENT team.

ICHF Works Towards Establishing a Permanent Pediatric ICU

Prior to ICHF’s presence in Guyana, cardiac surgery had never been performed in children, nor was there a Pediatric ICU to care for critically ill patients. Through your support, we have been able to donate the necessary equipment to open the first Pediatric ICU, and we continue the development of the unit through ongoing training of the local team. The education not only focuses on postoperative cardiac care but how to care for all critical patients requiring ICU level care.

Pre-Trip Training

Most recently, we went through 2 days of pre-trip training with the ICU Nurses, Pediatricians and Pediatric Residents in such areas as Patient Assessment, Basic EKG Recognition, Common ICU Medications, and Immediate Post-Op Care of the cardiac surgical patient. Each session had over 20 participants. The Pediatric Residents also completed 168 hours of critical care training during their rotation with our team.

As we continue our mission in Guyana and look forward to new opportunities this year, we hope to expand programs like this one and work towards helping Guyana build a sustainable and independent program, but we can’t do it without you. If you’d like to help us save more children with congenital heart defects, please consider making a donation today!

Special Thanks to The Caribbean Children’s Foundation, Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), and the Ministry of Health of Guyana for their support of this program.

December 14, 2015

Zero percent mortality rate achieved in Guyana

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation achieves zero percent mortality rate

The Babyheart team is thrilled to report that Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has seen zero deaths among pediatric heart surgery patients from the past year! Our wonderful volunteers as well as the dedicated staff at GPHC, the LIBIN Cardiovascular Institute and the Ministry of Health in Guyana all contributed greatly to establishing this successful pediatric heart program.

42 lives saved in Guyana

With one big donation of a heart-lung bypass machine from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, thanks to volunteer Steve Taylor, ICHF was well equipped to help set up this sustainable program. We are excited about the possibility of a second machine coming in the future!

Read the full article about this great success on Kaieteur News Online.

November 30, 2015

Babyheart team in Guyana for third 2015 medical mission

Team Babyheart returns to Georgetown, Guyana

Kaieteur News Online has reported on ICHF’s third medical mission to Georgetown, Guyana, where our team is working to perform at least 15 surgeries as well as interventional catheterizations. To read the full story, click here.

50 patients in Guyana will be served in 2015 alone

ICHF has worked to bring a sustainable and independent pediatric cardiac service to the South American Country by providing surgeries and educational training to the local hospital staff as well as establishing a pediatric intensive care unit with needed equipment at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Through this comprehensive strategy, we are able to help Guyana reduce the cost of having to send a child abroad for surgery and cut the cost to train local staff. This helps both patients and their families tremendously by not having to travel or spend time out of the comfort of their homes.

As we continue work in Guyana and as we look ahead to 2016, we hope to build more sustainable and independent programs like this one. But, we can’t do it without you. If you’d like to help us save more children with congenital heart defects, please consider making a donation today!