Our Program Model
The Four Components of our Program Model
Heart to Heart provides year-round guidance and support to our partner site teams abroad. While our international colleagues are putting new skills into practice between our visits, members of our medical advisory council review surgical outcomes to determine our next educational steps. Our medical volunteers provide strategic guidance and mentor department heads remotely as they implement Heart to Heart’s recommendations to reach the next level of program advancement. Lastly, we conduct annual surgical-educational missions to partner sites—the highlight of our program year!
Data collection & analysis
Our experts provide year-round rigorous analysis of each developing team’s surgical results. This enables us to give concise feedback for improving patient outcomes and taking surgery to the next level of complexity. We begin by requiring emerging teams to collect and track their surgical outcomes data—ultimately teaching them how to use data to self-evaluate in order to continuously improve outcomes.
Strategic guidance & leadership development
Throughout the year, Heart to Heart formulates next steps, guiding department heads to (1) refine internal systems; (2) enhance teamwork; (3) advance staff knowledge base and clinical skills; and (4) utilize surgical outcomes data for self-evaluation. This is of critical importance in order to achieve self-sustainability.
By implementing industry-standard best practices, our international colleagues fortify the structure, stability, and continuity of their own institutions—in addition to saving lives every day.
Annual surgical-educational missions
A Heart to Heart team of medical volunteers (12-15 cardiac specialists) works with a team abroad at their home institution for nearly two weeks each year. Side-by-side, the joint team diagnoses, performs open heart surgery, and cares for children postoperatively in the intensive care unit. The clinically based, patient-centered training we provide is complemented each afternoon with case conferences, workshops, and lectures to ensure that our medical volunteers are effectively transferring clinical skills and advanced cardiac knowledge.
Heart to Heart volunteers are cardiac specialists who are both licensed and currently practicing at leading children’s heart programs. They have extensive experience and exceptional teaching skills. Meet Our Volunteers!
Scholar exchange & continuing education
Heart to Heart sponsors physicians and nurses to learn best practices and specific surgical and clinical techniques at highly advanced centers in the U.S. We also sponsor our colleagues to attend international conferences and provide educational materials such as software, textbooks, and online journal subscriptions. In collaboration with our colleagues abroad, we actively encourage research projects, including abstract and manuscript production for international meetings. Heart to Heart promotes and participates in educational conferences at local, regional, and national levels.
In 2012, with funding from World of Children, Heart to Heart established the Nilas Young World of Children Traveling Fellowship. This annual fellowship enables Heart to Heart—in perpetuity—to bring aspiring pediatric cardiac specialists to the U.S. for training and education at leading children’s heart centers.