Our Program Model
We have designed an education-based program model
to guide nascent teams of cardiac specialists in developing self-sustaining
children’s heart programs within seven years. Its components are:
1. Strategic Guidance: We provide year-round guidance
on pediatric cardiac program development, including specific recommendations
for "next steps."
2. Data Collection & Analysis: We collect and analyze
each local team’s individual patient surgical outcomes and provide detailed
feedback on how to improve results.
3. Annual Surgical-Educational Missions: For 10–14 days,
a Heart to Heart team works side-by-side with Russian physicians at each site
to diagnose; perform open heart surgery; and provide post-operative intensive
care.
4. Scholar Exchange: Heart to Heart sponsors Russian
physicians to travel and learn at more advanced centers in the U.S. or
Russia and to participate at international conferences.
5. Continuing Education: We provide professional
educational materials such as textbooks, subscriptions to medical journals,
and software.
“
What I love about working with Heart to Heart is
that the minute we hit the ground, we begin functioning as one team. We focus of
course on patient care, but also on teaching our Russian colleagues to think and
work as a cohesive unit – to combine all the thinking from cardiologists, surgeons,
anesthesiologists, perfusionists, and ICU specialists . . . to determine the best
approach to providing care for each child.”
Dr. Frank Cetta, Lead Pediatric Cardiologist, Heart to Heart's Tomsk Team
Division Chair, Pediatric Cardiology, Mayo Clinic
Division Chair, Pediatric Cardiology, Mayo Clinic
Education-based Program Model: Our teaching methodology is geared
toward utilizing every case as a teaching opportunity, in addition to saving a
child's life.
Heart to Heart's program model involves teaching on three levels:
