How h4h is winning hearts with free surgeries

During a meetup of beneficiaries and donors

In 2002, when P.S. Sreemathi retired as Head of Department of Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery from the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Madras Medical College, there were 700 cases of children waiting for heart surgery.

Sophisticated cardiac devices and equipment were not so common in the 80s. “When I first came to the hospital in 1988 on transfer, the paediatric cardiology department had 200 children waiting for surgery. Later, in 1990, through funding from the State Government, Government of Japan and the World Bank the hospital received equipment that lent themselves to performing four, back-to-back surgeries a day,” recalls Dr. Sreemathi.

This motivated the cardiothoracic surgeon to initiate a project where economically disadvantaged children with congenital heart diseases could be treated free in a quality set-up with experienced doctors and paramedics.

Hearts for Hearts (H4H), a public charitable trust, was born in 2011 to ensure cardiac surgery reached the poor. Under the project Solution for Cardiac Afflicted Needy (SOCAN), the trust had conducted 460 surgeries so far, with the Public Health Centre (PHC) in West Mambalam, a 70 plus year old voluntary non-profit, serving as a generous hospital partner.

While the state government and some corporate hospitals offering free cardiac surgery, what makes H4H’s initiative extra special is that it bears the entire cost of the treatment which includes diagnosing the patient, the travel expenses incurred in coming to Chennai for surgery, finding a place for lodging and offering support with medication.

Dr P.S. Sreemathi retired as Head of Department of Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery from the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children in Chennai

Non-profit Udhavam Karangal has been lending support by offering its centres for patients convalescing after the surgery.

From finding the most deserving children in Tamil Nadu, today the team conducts medical camps in various other states to identify cases that need to be accorded utmost priority.

H4H has a long-term technical agreement with Boston Children’s Hospital in the United States for monitoring and upgradation of the skillsets of its team of medical and para-medical professionals.

“Through their rapport with the ‘International Quality Improvement Collaborative for Congenital Heart Disease’ we have improved and benefited considerably. We ask its team of doctors to help us if we find a case is complicated and they have the expertise,” says the 80-year-old doctor.

H4H has a team of cardiologists, cardio vascular surgeons, anaesthetists, physician assistants, male and female nurses and technicians that work together. A team of five trustees provide policy guidance and mobilise resources.

The big challenge before H4H is reaching out to different corners to create awareness about congenital heart diseases. The high cost of surgery and lack of awareness are reasons why many do not manage to get the needed treatment for their kids on time.

“We attend camps with the help of NGO networks and identify cases, this also includes tribal communities and uncharted areas,” says the Mylapore resident.

Funding

H4H has been able to touch many little hearts because of the contribution from various donors including philanthropic organisations and some corporates. Any basic heart surgery starts from ₹1.5 lakh onwards and the money pooled in is used to meet various expenses.

“We are trying to create a large fund pool, so we welcome donors to reach out to us to see if they can donate a corpus fund and the interest earned from the amount will keep us doing more surgeries and keep the project sustainable,” she says.

In its efforts to get funds the non-profit makes sure a rapport is built between the beneficiary and the donor to develop a bond.

“By funding surgeries of the poor, one is being more empathetic and offering a child the right to live which is a Fundamental Right,” says the doctor citing the example of an elderly couple that made a donation of ₹25 lakh.

While children between one and 18 years are the major beneficiaries, in some cases they have made the surgery available to adults.

For details, visit h4h.in