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Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence are leading the local charge to transform pediatric heart care. These hospitals are at the heart of our mission — saving children’s lives and shaping the future of heart care in underserved regions.

What is a Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence?

Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence are hospitals that have demonstrated exceptional commitment and capability in providing pediatric heart care. These institutions are leaders in delivering high-quality, complex cardiac treatments to children with CHD and serve as regional hubs for training and mentoring more heart care providers, ensuring more children receive the lifesaving treatments they need. 

Pictured: Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence Nhi Dong 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As of 2025, seven hospitals have earned the designation of Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence: 

  • Brazil: São José do Rio Preto: Hospital da Criança e Maternidade 
  • China: Chengdu: West China Hospital of Sichuan University 
  • China: Lanzhou: First Hospital of Lanzhou University 
  • India: Bangalore: Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Cardiac Sciences 
  • India: Kochi: Amrita Hospital Kochi 
  • Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur: Institut Jantung Negara (National Heart Institute) 
  • Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City: Nhi Dong 1 (Children’s Hospital 1) 

 

How does a hospital become a Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence?

To become a Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence, a hospital in a low- and middle-income country consistently delivers high-quality, team-based pediatric cardiac care. The hospital will often begin by engaging in a multi-year Children’s HeartLink partnership with a medical volunteer team from a top teaching and research institution.  

Together, the teams work together to reduce infection and mortality rates while increasing complexity of surgeries to improve outcomes for children.

By focusing on a train-the-trainer model, Children’s HeartLink partnerships ensure that hospitals aiming to become a Center of Excellence provide outstanding care and share their expertise with other healthcare teams in low-resource environments. This approach maximizes the number of children who can benefit from high-quality cardiac care, thereby addressing the global shortage of pediatric heart specialists. 

“Children’s HeartLink represented a milestone in the history of the pediatric cardiac services in São José do Rio Preto. Mainly, Children’s HeartLink showed us how to evolve even without increasing the budget, but with the commitment of all the team and the empowerment of professionals in the areas of nursing, respiratory therapists, and others.”
Dr. Carlos De Marchi, pediatric cardiologist from Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence Hospital da Criança e Maternidade in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil

The mission of Children’s HeartLink is to save children’s lives by transforming pediatric heart care in underserved parts of the world. Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence are vital components in making this happen.

Every day these hospitals make a significant impact on global health, impacting the lives of children born with congenital heart disease (CHD), one heart at a time. 

Dr. Ulisses Croti and his team at Hospital da Criança e Maternidade, São José do Rio Preto, Brazil.

Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence in Action

Pediatric heart care training activities facilitated by Children’s HeartLink Centers of Excellence are happening year-round, all around the world. 

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Pictured: Children’s HeartLink Center of Excellence Hospital da Criança e Maternidade in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil