The BCF team has just returned from Africa, where they performed several pacemaker operations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and helped advancement of cardiac care by educating local doctors to aid those in need at Rwanda Military Hospital, Kigali. This included lectures on Cardiac Arrhythmias, ICU rounds and follow-up on the pacemakers while teaching local staff future follow-up practices. This year’s team included Salil Midha, MD, Greg MacDonald, MD, Timothy Hudson,MD, John O’Mara, MD Jessica Jordan, RN, Gilenesh Haile,RN, Ms. Susan DeTurk, EP laboratory coordinator and Ms. Brenda Houde.

The Boston Cardiac Foundation is a non-profit organization that brings medical technologies and services to less developed countries around the world. The BCF team, made up of physicians, nurses, and technologists, performs cardiac procedures such as pacemaker surgery free of charge for patients who can’t afford the lifesaving treatment. Members of the BCF team have been traveling around the globe on charitable missions for over 24 years. The BCF motto is ‘helping one heart at a time’.

Boston Cardiac Foundation team members have performed over 350 pacemaker implantations in India alone and another 300 cases in Paraguay and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The ability to perform these procedures is due to the support from our communities both in the US and in India, as well as generous donations made by the major device companies: Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, and Biotronik. These companies have donated over 3 million dollars in equipment and supplies to sustain our efforts around the globe.

The 2014 mission to India was also a very successful one. The BCF team saw over 60 patients in clinics at Sitaram Bhartiya Hospital in New Delhi and Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital in Meerut, U.P. In these clinics, each patient received an evaluation by a physician and an ECG to determine candidacy for a pacemaker; ultimately a total of 20 new pacemaker devices were implanted. Patients with pacemakers from prior years received a check-up to ensure their device was operating properly.

“For 24 years I’ve gone on missions to help the poor and implanted 650 pacemakers in those who otherwise could not afford this lifesaving procedure,” Dr. Midha said. “It makes a big impact on people’s lives and that gives me the energy to go forward.”

Dr. Midha and his BCF colleagues were recently recognized for their efforts, earning a spot in the 2011 Limca Book of Records (the Indian equivalent to the Guinness Book of World Records). The team implanted the most charitable devices (11 pacemakers!) in one day.

Acknowledgements:

The Cummings Foundation has awarded the BCF team with a 3-year grant to support further missions in Africa, South America, and India. While the Cummings Foundation’s primary focus is to support nonprofits based in eastern MA, it also has a special interest in Rwanda, where Joyce and Bill Cummings have discovered that funding can have a substantial positive impact on some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

The BCF is also extremely thankful for the support we have received from SitaRam Bhartiya Hospital in New Delhi and Jaswant Rai Speciality Hospital in Meerut, India. We are grateful to the hospital administrations and our cardiology colleagues for their generosity and continued dedication to our mission. In partnership with all our local and regional partners, we hope to support heart healthier lives around the world.

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