Team Indiana Hearts will travel to Nairobi, Kenya to collaborate with a local cardiac surgery team in providing life-saving cardiac surgical care to patients who otherwise would not have access to this specialized treatment. This mission will focus on performing complex cardiac surgeries while working side-by-side with Kenyan surgeons, anesthesiologist, nurses, and perfusionists.
Our multidisciplinary cardiac surgery team will share our expertise and evidence-based approach to cardiac surgery. Through hands-on collaboration, teaching, and mentorship, we aim to strengthen local clinical skills and support the long-term sustainability of cardiac surgical care at the host hospital.
By partnering closely with the hospital staff, Team Indiana Hearts seeks not only to improve immediate patient outcomes but also to contribute to lasting improvements in cardiac care.
In Nairobi, Kenya, thousands of individuals are waiting for open-heart surgery but are unable to obtain timely care due to limited resources and surgical capacity. Through direct clinical support and focused education, Team Indiana Hearts will work alongside the staff at the host hospital to strengthen their skills in both cardiac surgery and postoperative care. By sharing surgical techniques, care pathways, and team-based approach, we aim to improve efficiency and outcomes, enabling a local team to safely perform a greater number of surgeries in a shorter period of time.
The expected impact of this mission is to enhance the clinical skills and efficiency of the host cardiac surgery team, leading to improved surgical performance and better patient outcomes. Through hands-on collaboration and patient education, the project aims to improve recovery, reduce complications, and support sustainable improvements in cardiac surgical care.
I recently returned from our cardiac surgery mission trip to Nairobi Kenya where we partnered with Kenyatta University hospital to provide lifesaving cardiac surgical care to patients in need. We successfully operated on eight patients on our mission trip.
Our surgical team consisted of operating room nurses intensive care unit nurses, cardiac surgeons. physician assistants, anesthesiologist, and perfusionist. Each member of the team generously donated their time, expertise, and clinical skills to make this mission possible. The patients we treat require complex cardiac surgery to survive. Many have been waiting months and in some cases years and some were hospitalized with several cardiac conditions waiting for their surgery to be performed. Through this mission, we were able to provide these patients with a second chance of life and renewed hope for the future.
In addition to patient care, one of the most meaningful aspects of this experience was a collaboration and education shared between our team and local healthcare staff. We worked side by side with nurses, residents, surgeons, perfusionists, anesthesiologists, and students in the operating room and intensive care unit providing hands on teaching and sharing clinical protocols, techniques, and experience at the same time, we learned just as much from the Kenya team. Their clinical intuition, resilience, adaptability, teamwork, and unwavering dedication to patient care despite limited resources were truly inspiring. They reminded us of while technology and equipment are invaluable tools, exceptional patient care ultimately comes from knowledge, vigilance, compassion, and heart. This exchange of education, experience, and mutual respect was incredibly meaningful for all involved. Their preservation and commitment to their patients served as a powerful reminder of why we entered health care in the first place.
This mission would not have been possible without the support of our team members and the generosity of every donor an organization that contributed. I would like to thank the Dox Foundation, Operational International, Edwards life science and Abbott for donated heart valves, Elkhart General Hospital, the Midwest Cardiac Research and Education Foundation, and all donors who supported us to help make this mission a success. On behalf of the entire team, thank you for your generosity, partnership, and commitment to improving lives around the world.
Sincerely,
Christine Rullo
