Making a difference:
Brazil

A shortage of trained specialists to treat and manage congenital heart disease remains a challenge. The most complex surgeries are performed in the large urban and public hospitals, where most citizens receive free care from Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS), the largest public healthcare system in the world.

The existing infrastructure to diagnose and treat congenital heart disease in many parts of the country is limited, with an unequal distribution of resources between states in the northern region, as compared to the central and southern parts of the country.

2009 marked the beginning of our partnership with Brazil.

Our strategy for enhancing sustainable health systems has led to increased capacity to treat pediatric heart disease; decreased postoperative infection and mortality rates; enhanced proficiency in data collection, reporting, and analysis; and a one-year pediatric cardiac training program at Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence Hospital da Criança e Maternidade in São José do Rio Preto.

In Brazil, our goal is to develop three Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence by 2030.

To support this commitment, we’re establishing long-lasting partnerships with local stakeholders. Our focus is on building clinical and organizational skills of key hospital programs and increasing support for the inclusion of pediatric cardiac care into Brazil’s national health system.

Check out our Brazil fact sheet (PDF) for more information.

Volunteer training teams

• Children’s Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
• Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
• The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
• Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA