Team Heart Joins Forces with Kigali Reads

We are excited to announce brand new partnership of Team Heart and Kigali Reads!   This initiative began when Ceeya met Parfait, a Rwandan who is getting his graduate degree at UMASS and learned about his work with Kigali Reads.  Parfait has worked hard to establish  a literacy center for children to go to before and after school in Rwanda but needed some help securing some books for the Center .  The Willett family  took this project on and collected over 600 books which were shipped to Rwanda  with the Team Heart supplies and delivered  to  Kigali Reads by Drew, Anne and Rick.  The children were so happy to receive the books!   They opened the boxes like it was Christmas morning.

We had much needed assistance carrying the books down a narrow path to the new reading center, .Rindiro Jean from Kigali Reads, Drew and his new friend.

Andy is holding up the new banner announcing the partnership between Kigali Reads and Team Heart with Grace, the reading center's director.  Grace is Parfait's sister.  The children are shown here  are holding water bottles and wearing shirts  donated by Furnace Brook Middle School  in Marshfield, MA.

We are Hard at Work in Rwanda!!

Many of our dedicated nurses come from Near and far.  We couldn't do what we do without these dedicated individuals!  Pictured here we have Joy from Seattle, Harriet, Judy  and Madelon from South Carolina, Lydia and Molly from Vermont, Lauren from Colorado and Suellen and Kayla from Boston

Patrick, the Rwandese medical resident assigned to Team Heart is working on increasing his ECHO skills with Marilyn, one of our cardiac sonographers. A cardiac sonographer images the heart with ultra sound. We identify the patients needing surgery with this tool and then follow them throughout  their surgery and recovery using this imaging technique. Many of the patients who have had heart surgery in previous years will come back to the hospital to have their heart checked with one of our sonographers this year.

Team Heart is making progress:)

We are so pleased to announce our first patient, 25 year old Aline has been moved out of the ICU and into the Stepdown ward.  Aline lives in an orphanage in Nyanza Province where many of our other patients have lived.  In the picture she is with our nurses Hillary from Minnesota, Molly from Vermont and Beatha from Rwanda. 
Last year we were able to perform surgery on fifteen  year old Redempta. Because of the poor living conditions and the need for the patients to stay on blood thinners, her Mother felt she could not properly care for her. Now, a year later Redempta is thriving; she is healthy and happy and yes, as her Mother had hoped, through an educational scholarship is living with our nurse practitioner Julie's family.  This year Redempta is here with us in Rwanda to offer encouragement to others who are facing valve replacement surgery.

Team Heart 2015 had their first official gathering yesterday in Rwanda to select the patients who will be operated on while we are here.  The screening team did and excellent job of identifying then presenting the many acutely ill patients that are candidates for surgery.  It was a very long day with many productive discussions about  each person presented. The patients selected will have life saving heart valve replacement surgery with tissue or mechanical valves within the next few days.  Pictured below is part of the team lead by Dr. Chip Bolman hard at work.

These are some of our wonderful nurses Connie, Susan and Hilary who are awaiting the arrival of their first post-op surgery patient in the Intensive care unit on Monday. Connie and Susan have been here many times before but this is Hilary's first trip to Rwanda with Team Heart

Our first patient who is a 25-year old young man is successfully transferred to the ICU!  Pictured below is Dr. Bruce Leavitt looking on as the Rwandan team and Team Heart members begin post operative care. 

What is your Mission?

Mission Statement:

Working in partnership with the Rwandan Ministry of Health, and the Rwanda Heart Foundation, and global partners, TeamHeart will address the burden of cardiac disease:

To address the suffering of adolescents and young adults afflicted with advanced rheumatic  and congenital heart disease in Rwanda with surgical intervention to return to a productive and fulfilling life.

To work with the medical and nursing staff in Rwanda to establish a sustainable regional center of excellence in cardiac care for children and adults.

To prevent advanced rheumatic heart disease through a combined effort of surveillance, prevention, education and early intervention as an example of effective countrywide intervention against rheumatic heart disease that can inspire a scalable  model in sub-Saharan Africa.

Program Components:

1. Cardiac Surgery: Now in our eighth year, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital (BWH/MGH) based TeamHeart (TH) will continue to work with the Ministry of Health, and local medical personnel to establish a sustainable independent cardiac surgery center in Rwanda to address the surgical burden of all types cardiac disease requiring surgical intervention.

2. Rheumatic and Congenital Heart Disease Registries: Working together with the Ministry of Health, the Rwandan Heart Foundation, TH will identify register and implement a care-delivery system for those patients requiring surgical care. Those with milder forms of rheumatic heart disease who need secondary prophylaxis,  will be followed with a goal to prevent the progression of disease. Patients with CHD and RHD awaiting surgical intervention will be placed on national waiting list to facilitate referral for care.

3. Management of Cardiac Disease: To prevent rheumatic fever (RF), and thereby progression to rheumatic heart disease (RHD), a collaborative project will improve management of all aspects of streptococcal infections in a region that has been identified with a presumed high rate of disease. Identification, early intervention, prevention and post operative follow up will be the focus of the first outreach clinics in the country devoted to cardiac disease. 

Dear Members of Team Heart 2014:
I have been back in Boston for the last couple of days, and have had some time to reflect on the visit of Team Heart to Kigali this year. In many ways, this trip proved to be the most satisfying of all our trips to date. It was also, without a doubt, the most intense and exhausting, partly because of the extracurricular activities which accompanied the usual surgical challenges. The main thing, indeed, the thing that keeps all of us coming back, year after year, is the unbelievable patients. This year, as always, the challenges were many, and also, as always, they were outstripped by the rewards. Beginning with the amazing work of the screening team, and the humbling responsibility of choosing only the 16 most 'deserving' to have the opportunity to undergo surgery, the patients quickly winnowed their way into our collective consciousness and affection. Seeing the effect this has on the various team members is always remarkable to behold. One of the challenges many of us face is learning to maintain sufficient emotional distance to be able to continue to function when the inevitable disappointments happen, and at the same time, not compromise our compassion for these very sick and vulnerable people. We operated on sixteen high-risk patients, by any measure which can be applied. Thanks to the selfless, tireless efforts from all involved, from the theatre team to the ICU and the step-down unit, and including Sluice Team 6, all the volunteers, our biomedical experts, these patients were all given at the very least a chance at a longer and healthier life, and the opportunity to pursue their dreams. I know I say this every year, but it is so rare as to warrant comment yet again. One of the most consistently moving aspects of this entire experience year to year is the way each and every team member checks their egos at Customs, and does absolutely whatever is necessary to ensure that the patients do well. That everyone helps everyone else, without being asked, and that the laser focus is always, always on the patients and on each other, speaks volumes about the quality of individual that this effort has attracted. This is the best work that we do in our careers, and I am truly humbled and proud to work with each and every one of you. 
I would like to also recognize our Rwandese colleagues, who, this year, stepped up to perform at a higher level than ever before. In theatre, perfusion and anesthesia was more Rwanda-centered than ever. In ICU and Step-down, the same was true. This is very rewarding to behold, and bespeaks the need for a more sustainable effort in cardiac surgery in Rwanda, such that this momentum in education and information transfer can be maintained and enhanced. 

In this, our seventh year of performing surgical missions, I feel that we have finally reached a threshold of credibility regarding both our commitment to Rwanda, as well as our ability to consistently perform cardiac surgery at a very high level. This cachet was evident in many of our discussions with various stakeholders, including the leadership of KFH, Dr. Gasakura, the physician to the President, the Ministers of Education and State, representatives of the Ministry of Health, the President and Vice-President of the Senate of Rwanda, among others. The visit of Sir Magdi Yacoub and his daughter, Lisa, also enhanced our credibility, and allowed us to begin to leverage our work to help reach the next level, namely to develop a sorely-needed dedicated cardiac center for Rwanda and the surrounding region. 

I will stop there, as I have already rambled on too long. Thank you, one and all, for your dedication and for your love of your fellow man, so evident in all your efforts for Team Heart on behalf of our mutual patients. Til next year. 
Chip Bolman

2014 RHD Resolutions

Here Jean Paul greets young Ange...one of our favorite teens from near Butare. Ange has a bioprosthetic mitral valve replacement--and a smile to light up the room! Here, she was photographed a year after surgery by Mackenzie Craig.


Each Monday we are anxious to hear something inspirational to help us do a better job from various sources updating over weekend. Today's message on Movie Monday was in that category because it speaks to TeamHeart mission... Helping others to connect to save lives and be generous. If you would like to watch the 3-minute inspiring video, please visit:

http://moviemondays.com/261-generosity/?awt_l=9mouo&awt_m=JIhYvmlU0WSBtP

This video clip  led to a New Year Resolution list for RHD & Advocacy, which is always topped off by first, a safe screening and surgical trip,  this year scheduled  in 2014 in February to March 8. Taking 35 medical volunteers across the ocean and home  again safely is a priority. Getting 16 desperately ill individuals in and out of the OR and hospital safely is a priority of equal importance.

Through a generous grant from The Medtronic Foundation, the Bakken Invitation recognizes the volunteerism and advocacy of Jean Paul Iyamuremye.  Planning an advocacy resolution list involves Jean Paul and a group of local patients and staff who will develop and priortize to begin to implement in February. Starred items are already in the development or process. The list of participants involves patients as advocates, medical personnel  in nursing, medicine, pharmacy and public health  from Rwanda and US.

Suggestions have included:

Develop a statement of RHD advocacy with group consensus

*Promote pre- and post operative teaching by video, booklet, and individual teaching by patient support group.

*Care pathways individualized for patients. 

Advocacy for Warfarin distribution and testing.

*RHD prevention posters for health centers.

Radio drama for awareness and prevention.

"Tell the story" recordings—this might be a nurse, a patient or a business person.

*Collaborating with Rwanda leaders in nursing education via curriculum development.

Develop a speakers bureau to include patients, physicians, nurses--prepare and distribute presentations appropriate for range of audiences.

Develop a Rwanda Patient Care Network resource website…designed and managed in Rwanda in Kinyarwandan/English/French.

Promote social and economic initiatives to support the return of productivity of those having had cardiac surgery- collaborate with local development partners 

 WHO RHD booklet --translated and edited into Kinyarwandan and development of resource list, "what is being done in Rwanda currently to support RHD". 

*OR safety-Implement Cardiac surgery specific checklist.

*Translate Hearts of Courage to Kinyarwandan for local distribution....

Join us to help change the life of an individual with rheumatic heart disease from the bedside to economic stability and personal health maintenance--a life long process.