In Vietnam, not many children with heart disease get the care they need, especially infants with the most serious conditions. To help address this problem, this week we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Vietnam National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi, our third partner hospital in this country of 95 million. The Ping & Amy Chao Family Foundation is supporting this new partnership.

“This new partnership in Hanoi is key to our strategy for growth in Vietnam. Families in northern Vietnam are desperate to have their sick children treated, and the current waiting lists are extremely long,” says Children’s HeartLink President Jackie Boucher. “We’re grateful to our new medical volunteer team from the University of California San Francisco for partnering with us to help train and empower their peers in Hanoi so they can provide quality care for these children.”

Seated: Children’s HeartLink Vice President of International Programs Bistra Zheleva and Professor Le Thanh Hai, Director, Vietnam National Children’s Hospital
Standing: Dr. Shunji Sano, Professor of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery at University of California San Francisco, and Dr. Nguyen Ly Thinh Truong, chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, Head of the General Planning Department and Vice Director of the Heart Center, Vietnam National Children’s Hospital

Widely regarded as the premier children’s hospital in Vietnam, Vietnam National Children’s Hospital serves northern Vietnam, with a regional population of over 30 million. The hospital is a hub for a network of 14 provincial centers, three of which are hoping to build pediatric cardiac surgical capacity.

We began working in Vietnam in 2008. Our other partner hospitals there are Nhi Dong 1 (Children’s Hospital 1) in Ho Chi Minh City and Kien Giang General Hospital in Rach Gia.