PEDIATRIC HEART SURGERY & INTERVENTIONAL CARDIOLOGY MISSION

SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: May 3-10, 2025

CardioStart International is pleased to announce a return mission to Clinica Corazones Unidos Hospital in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This one-week mission will focus on managing pediatric congenital cardiac surgery and PEDIATRIC catheterization lab procedures.

COUNTRY FACTS:

Capital: Santo Domingo. Dialing code: +849 Population: 10.3 million. Language: Spanish

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western three-eighths of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands, along with Saint Martin, that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,445 square kilometers (18,705 sq. mi.) and an estimated 10 million people, one million of which live in the capital city, Santo Domingo. Inhabitants have dwelled in, what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country’s capital and Spain’s first capital in the New World. After three centuries of Spanish rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the country became independent in 1821. The Dominican Republic has the ninth largest economy in Latin America and the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services.

Unemployment, government corruption, and inconsistent electric services, however, remain major Dominican problems. The country also has “marked income inequality”. International migration affects the Dominican Republic greatly, as it receives and sends large flows of migrants. Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues. A large Dominican diaspora exists, most of it in the United States. They aid national development as they send billions of dollars to their families.

SAFETY

Travel.state.gov rates the Dominican Republic as Level 2:Do exercise Increased caution due to crime.Go to their website for more information and to make your decision.

MISSION DETAILS:

Pediatric Interventional Cardiology: Ten + Interventional cardiac procedures will be performed during the mission.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery: will take place at Clinica Corazones Unidos, which is already receiving and managing adult cardiac surgical cases. CardioStart’s pediatric team will perform 5 Pediatric cases and teach skills for local cardiologists, the local cardiac surgeons, ICU doctors, nurses, and allied professionals. Team volunteers will be expected to participate in bedside teaching and demonstration.

COST:

Interested volunteers will be asked to fund their own airline ticket (Santa Domingo airport code is SDQ), obtain immunizations (see CDC website and vaccination requirements (by the D.R.) and pay for their one evening meal day. All hotel and other meal costs will be provided.

The mission will begin on Sunday May 4th, we request you arrive some time on Late Saturday or early Sunday. Orientation and patient case presentations will take place on Sunday May 4th early evening. The mission will end 5 pm, on Friday May 9th. Volunteers may choose to stay longer to visit many of the interesting locations nearby at their own expense.

***The team cardiologist and echo tech will arrive Friday May 2nd or 3rd to work up patients for presentation on Sunday Evening.

THE TEAM WILL INCLUDE:

Pediatric Surgeon (1)

Pediatric Interventional Cardiologist (1)

Pediatric Cath lab Tech (1)

Pediatric Intensivist (1)

Pediatric Anesthesiologist (1)

Pediatric Intensive Care Nurses (with previous or current cardiovascular surgery recovery experience) (4)

***Spanish speaking skills a bonus

HOW TO APPLY TO JOIN THE TEAM:

Our hosts, Fundación Heart Care Dominicana Inc., have suffered severe financial restrictions during the Covid pandemic that have limited how many rooms in the hotel they can support. For this reason, we are agreeing to same-sex room sharing, where possible. As usual, teams are assembled strictly on the “first come – first served” basis. Those who could not be previously accommodated in a previous mission application will be prioritized.

FOR REGISTRATION click here.

Communicate directly with Ms. Janine Henson at Janine.henson@cardiostart.org

LOCAL TOURING:

As the first city founded in the Americas, the Dominican Republic’s capital city of Santo Domingo boasts an impressive collection of museums, historic sites, art, and music. The Colonial City, located inside Santo Domingo, is the first city of the America’s; it features the first street, hospital, University, and cathedral in the Americas. It is believed that the body of Christopher Columbus still resides on this island where he landed, hundreds of years ago.

There are many historic museums and buildings that take a unique look into Dominican culture. Among them are the Alcázar de Colon (Fortress of Colon), the Reloj de Sol (the Sun Clock) and the Monasterio de los Padres Dominicos (the Monastery of the Dominican Fathers).