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Members of the Team
Our medical staff is composed of cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric and cardiac anesthesiologists, intensivists,
pediatric cardiologists, pediatricians, perfusion technologists, respiratory therapists, operating room nurses
and critical care nurses who volunteer their time and expertise to care for these vulnerable children. The Heart Care
International team consists of over 100 members and only a few representative members are shown here at this time.
Surgeons
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Robert E. Michler, MD, is the Founder and Chairman of Heart Care International. Dr. Michler is an internationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in both adult and pediatric heart surgery. He was first to use minimally invasive and robotic surgery on heart patients and he pioneered the safe use of human muscle cell injections to treat congestive heart failure. Dr. Michler is currently Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine 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. Dr. Michler received his BA from Harvard University and his MD from Dartmouth Medical School.
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Dr. Mark Galantowicz
serves as co-director of the
Columbus OH Children's Hospital Heart
Center. He is board certified in general and cardiothoracic surgery. He
has a special interest in the surgical repair of congenital heart disease
and cardiopulmonary transplantation. He is the founder and medical director
of the Forum's Children of the World Foundation and is on the board of
directors of Heart Care International. |
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Dr. Samuel Weinstein is Director, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, and Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He oversees the Gift of Life Program at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM), which helps treat children with congenital heart disease from developing countries. He received his BA from the University of Pennsylvania and his MD from State University of New York at Stony Brook. His general surgical and cardiothoracic surgical training were completed at New York-Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Weinstein spent an additional 18 months at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia focusing on pediatric cardiothoracic surgery. He is a board member of Heart Care International and a member of its Open Heart Team.
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Freddy Madera, Heart Care Dominicana,
joined
Heart Care in the Dominican Republic in 2000. He is a cardiac surgeon and
Director of Cardiovascular surgery at CEDIMAT. He has performed numerous
surgeries for Heart Care in his home country, the Dominican Republic. He was
a cardio thoracic surgery resident at the University of Missouri Columbia
and Boston University. He completed medical school in the
Dominican Republic
and General Surgery at Pinnacle Health System in
Pennsylvania.
“The purpose of Heart Care brought me back to the Dominican Republic in
order to help those who might otherwise not have access to this critical
care.” |
Cardiologists
Anesthesiologists
Perfusionists
Operating Room Nurses
Intensive Care Nurses
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Betsy Tirado, RN,
started
with Heart Care International in 1994 on its trip to Guatemala. She is
co-captain of the pediatric Intensive Care Unit and trains the local nurses.
She works at the Children’s Hospital in New York at Columbia
Presbyterian. She has been an RN for 22 years.
“These children are our future. We need to save one child at a time and in
return they may save others. They and their families will always remember
how Heart Care touched their lives.” |
Respiratory Therapists
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Roland Camps joined Heart Care in 1994 with one of their first trips
to Guatemala. He is responsible for all respiratory care of the patients and
to train local practitioners in the field. He is a registered respiratory
therapist and has practiced respiratory care for 26 years. He works at
Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York in the Intensive Care Unit. |
Screen Team
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Ellen Moquete,
RN, joined
Heart Care in 1995. She is the screen team captain for the evaluation of all
patients with congenital heart disease to determine the best course of
treatment. She was an adult cardiology nurse for 18 years and now runs the
pediatric catherization lab at Columbia Presbyterian hospital. She went to
St. Olaf College in Minnesota where she received her B.S. in Nursing.
“Once you find your niche in volunteering you receive so much more than you
give. This is so special.” |
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Tracey Rossi, RN, joined Heart Care in 2000 with her first trip to
the Dominican Republic.She has been a critical care nurse for 17 years at
Columbia Presbyterian and works with pediatric catherization. She received
her B.S. in nursing at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
“HeartCare has given me the opportunity to be truly involved in world
health. It is not only nursing care but also teaching children and parents
about human growth and development. It has allowed me to work with doctors
and nurses from all over the U.S. which has been a terrific experience. |
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Mickey Wilder,
RN joined
Heart Care in 2000 with her first trip to the Dominican Republic. She works
in pediatric cardiology at the Pediatric Center for Heart Disease in New
Jersey. She has 18 years of experience in neonatal intensive care and 6
years in pediatric care. She is also the camp nurse at a camp called Hope
with Heart, a one week sleep away camp for children with moderate to severe
heart disease. |
Administration and Auxiliary Support
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The Rev. Ron F. Allison (shown here with his wife Penny) was
Senior Minister at Second Congregational Church in Greenwich CT when he
initiated Heart Care International together with Dr. Michler . He has
participated in several mission trips and is a Member of the Board of the
organization. |
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Ms. Phyllis Jacob (shown here with a young
patient in Guatemala) is a member of the non-medical support team. A
member of Second Congregational Church, she became interested in Heart Care because her daughter had to undergo open heart surgery at age
10. |
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Ms. Anne Kennedy is shown here with Desire and a friend in
Guatemala. |
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Ms. Shereen Abdel-Meguid
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