Medical Team Captains
The Heart Care International medical team is divided up according to discipline. Each medical discipline is headed up by a medical team captain who actively participates in the planning of every mission trip. These team captains spend endless hours recruiting team members for their discipline, identifying needed supplies for the upcoming mission, keeping track of existing HCI supply inventory, including medicines and equipment and identifying potential 'pitfalls' regarding resource needs for the upcoming mission. HCI is grateful for the fortitude that these team captains display in making each mission such a success. 2010 Team Captains are as follows:
Founder and Chairman
Robert E. Michler, MD, Founder and Chairman of Heart Care International, is an internationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon and is currently Surgeon-in-Chief, Samuel I. Belkin Chair, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein Hospital in New York City. He was previously Professor of Surgery and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplantation at the Ohio State University Medical Center, and served as Director of the Cardiac Transplant Program at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. Dr. Michler received his BA from Harvard University and his MD from Dartmouth Medical School.
Surgical
Captain - Dr. Samuel Weinstein, internationally recognized for his work treating children with congenital heart disease from developing countries, is a member of the HCI Board and is currently the Director of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and also oversees The Gift of Life Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), which brings children from developing countries to the United States for life-saving heart surgery. Dr. Weinstein trained at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital Medical Center in New York for both his general surgical and cardiothoracic surgical training, and completed his pediatric cardiac training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Pediatric Cardiology
Captain - Dr. Ernest Siwik, currently Interim Chief, Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital ni Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Siwik s an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Case University School of Medicine. Dr. Siwik, who joined HCI in 2002, has special interests in cardiac catheterization, device interventions for children and adults with congenital heart disease, and genetic disorders relating to cardiovascular disease in children. He has co-authored numerous articles and book chapters related to both genetic and interventional cardiology and has also served as Director of the Pediatric Catheterization Laboratory at Rainbow Children's Hospital.
Cardiac Anesthesiology
Captain - Dr. Bill Schechter, currently an Attending Physician in the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology and Intensive Care and has more than twenty-five years of experience in providing pediatric intensive care and anesthesia for critically ill children. He also holds positions as Director of the Pediatric Pain Medicine Program and the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and is Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University in the City of New York. Dr. Schechter is a founding member and Vice Chairman on the HCI Board of Directors.
Perfusion
Captain - Daniel Gomez, CCP, certified in Medical and Perfusion Technology is the Chief of Cardiac Research and Support Coordinator for Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. Dan joined Heart Care International in 1999 and has participated in over 10 mission trips. Dan is also responsible for overall coordination of perfusion staffing and procurement of equipment for all HCI mission trips.
Operating Room Nursing
Co-Captain - Roberta (Bobbie) Rodeman has been an Operating Room nurse for over 27 years and at Nationwide Children's Hospital for 24 years. She has a background in unit management, and has been an open heart nurse throughout her tenure. Bobbie also functions as an RNFA in addition to scrubbing and circulating. She has been an author and co-author of numerous posters and presentations at both regional and national meetings. Bobbie has been participating on mission trips for over ten years and has been affiliated with Heart Care International since 2001.
Co-Captain - Brett Emerson
Intensive Care Nursing
Co-Captain - Betsy Tirado-Ortiz, RN, is a long standing member of HCI and has volunteered on over 20 mission trips. She is co-captain of the pediatric Intensive Care Unit and is responsible for overseeing and teaching the local nursing staff. She has been an RN for over 23 years and is currently on staff at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York.
Co-Captain - Carolyne Kyne, RN
Respiratory Therapy
Captain - Nilsa Negron spent the first half of her career as a Respiatory Therapist in her native country, Puerto Rico. After moving to the United States in 1989, Nilsa spent 7 years working at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in the Pediatric ICU and Open Heart Unit. Currently, Nilsa lives in Orlando, Florida and works at the Winnie Palmer Chidlren's Hospital. Nilsa began participating in Heart Care missions over 7 years ago and continues to find the experience one of the most rewarding.
Pediatric Intensivists
Captain - Tessie October MD, MPH is a Pediatric Intensive Care Physician who has been a member of Heart Care International since 2006. She has been committed to international service for her entire career, working in Zimbabwe, Costa Rica and China, among other countries. Aside from her clinical work, she also performs research on health disparities in the United States. She is responsible for providing post-operative care in the ICU and medical wards during HCI's mission trips.