Lima, Peru
LIMA Peru PEDIATRIC Mission INVITATION Institute national de salud DEL NINOS September 12-19, 2025
In September 2025, a CardioStart pediatric cardiac team returned to the Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño (Children’s) Hospital, Av. Brasil 600, Lima 15083, Peru, where we have assisted several times previously in development of their Pediatric Cardiac surgical programs.
There remains a large number of children needing evaluation from several regions, particularly in the interior of the country. Much of the increasingly large waiting list is related to the Covid pandemic in which Peru was most prominent among south American countries affected. Efficient tertiary evaluation by The Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño-Lima, is still not possible at the moment yet it serves as a vitally important referral center for a large part of Peru.
Approximately 45% of the people of Peru live in poverty leaving preventive healthcare limited. Pre- and post-natal care is also limited in availability for expectant mothers. Those with cardiac problems often do not survive long. Those who do survive may not necessarily be diagnosed and successfully placed on a waiting list. The families and the healthcare ministry often do not have enough funds available to provide full care for the indigent and this group is often only able to provide assistance with the help of occasional international visiting teams.
Accordingly, for this mission, the 20th for CardioStart to Peru, a team returned to the Children’s Hospital which is a regional referral center. On this occasion we were in Lima only, and will focus on assisting the local team to advance surgical, anesthetic and nursing care practices to improve outcomes for children currently being operated there. Most of the features of general cardiac care are in place in the hospital, and in some areas, excellent care is available. The frustration of the local team is an ongoing problem in taking on more complex cardiac cases partly due to some vital equipment shortages and including “use once-only” items (disposables). Their facilities have also been temporarily transferred to another part of the hospital while the wards, OR and ICU suites are undergoing repair/renovation. Cases are increasingly being presented late which increases the potential of a higher morbidity and complexity. A previous earthquake also did structural damage to certain areas of the hospital.
EDUCATION:
In the OR and ICU, team volunteers applied CardioStarts’ mission of side-by-side teaching techniques both in the Operating room and the ICU
CardioStart Team:
OUTREACH
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Our Outreach team (introduced by Dra. Saldana Gallo) went to the orphanage on the outskirts of the city. This complex is very well run by Fr. Omar Sanchez, and has three facilities. It includes care of young orphaned children, young adults with various permanent disabilities and terminally ill patients needing hospice support. The Outreach team’s activities included making cardiological and general nursing assessments, to provide screening support; they also gave practical support with purchases of certain items of equipment.
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The hospital’s Volunteer house. This facility called: Asociacion de Volunty Del Instituto Nacional de Salud del Nino (AVOLDINSN). is run by Peruvian volunteers who focus on the needs of the mother while their child is in the hospital. The Outreach team met with the local volunteer team, (arranged by Dra. Lily Saldana Gallo), and explained that some items on the container may be helpful to their program.
RECOMMENDATIONS SUBMITTED TO LOCAL TEAM TO ASSIST THEIR GROWTH
The failure of the MOH to arrange for release and opening the container within five days of its arrival (23rd August, 2025) and in time for the mission, did considerable harm to our attempts to help local cardiac program and CardioStart’s general mission intent and activity.
It also endangered the clinic work in the hospital during the week. This was particularly the case in regard to the oxygenator/tubing packs which remain sequestered at the Callao port’s warehouse even though they are brand new and in-date. It raised the clinical risks of not being able to perform surgeries at an internationally accepted standard, and raised the possibility of medico-legal intrusion that the local team would likely have to endure and confront in the future. Many of the hospital equipment donations and the suitcase items were brought to minimize that risk. They included oxygenator tubing packs and medications that the local team pleaded for us to bring.
Donated equipment is specifically designated to help ease the hospital’s limited resources. If the MOH had released the equipment to the hospital it would have allowed CardioStart’s volunteers to explain on site some of the donations, how they may increase surgical outcome success and help reduce the hospital’s general budget burdens.
Another major disappointment resulted from the failure of the container release: Mr. Michael Gelskey and Ms. Suzana Maluf were unable to deliver the desk-chairs, computer, motorized wheelchair and educational gifts to the orphanage.
Acknowledgements
CardioStart International would like to thank the following for their invaluable assistance in providing practical support that contributed to the Peru mission’s accomplishments:
Americares Inc, CT, USA – for donation of essential medications and monitoring equipment
Mr. Ron Angona, NY, USA – for donation of essential perfusion equipment
CardioStart Mission team members who brought donations and essential medications valued at >$20,000
CardioStart Fl, USA – Administration for Team preparation and documentation/credentialing.
CardioStart’s Delta Warehouse team, OR, USA – for logistical support in preparing items for Peru’s shipping container.
Mr. John Ferguson, Riverpoint medical Inc., OR, USA – for donation of headlight source
Mrs. Pam Harned WA, USA – for donating valve and essential perfusion equipment items
Mr. John Klocko, OR, USA – representing Peace Health Hospital, OR, USA, for sterilization of essential cardiac supplies.
Mr. Rolando Luna, NE, USA – for in-country appeals to support logistical US$ charges incurred.
Mr. Brian Mejak, CO, USA – for donation of essential perfusion equipment
Ms. Shari Maguire, OR, USA – CardioStart Thrift shop – for financial support towards the mission costs.
Ms. Carrie Ochocki, IL, USA – for donation of essential perfusion equipment
Pape Inc., OR, USA, – for forklift equipment donation (loan) for container loading and transport.
Ms. Anita Parker, GA, USA – for donation of essential perfusion equipment
Dr. James Quintessenza, Fl, USA – for donation of Gore-tex conduit grafts
Dra. Lily Saldana Gallo & Colleagues, Lima, Peru – for local coordination of the entire mission at the Children’s hospital, (Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño- San Borja).
Mr. John Sanders & Dr. Jennifer Crown, WA, USA – for financial support of mission costs
Southtowne Rotary of Eugene, OR, USA – for donation of equipment and logistics operations each week.
Mrs. Judy Spearin, OR, USA – for packing and logistical support for mailing mission equipment to volunteers.
Dr. Jinyoung Song, Seoul, South Korea, – for essential interventional catheter supplies.
Tisgen Inc, CA, USA- donation of Bovine Pericardium
Dr. Ross Ungerleider, N Carolina, USA – for donation of Gore-tex conduit grafts
Dr. Dan Woodward, OR, USA – for purchase and donation of essential inotrope cardiac medications
West Coast Shipping, Inc., CA, USA, – for support in ensuring container transport to Peru.
Ms. Deanna Wilke, TX, USA – representing LivaNova Inc., – for vital perfusion equipment
Mr. Steven Yett, OR, USA – for logistical support (warehouse)
Aubyn Marath MBBS MS FRCSEd October 8th 2025
