The Children’s Heart Center at AUBMC: A Beacon of Hope in Lebanon
We are pleased to introduce the Children’s Heart Center (CHC) at AUBMC. Twenty years ago, we began constructing a congenital heart center with the intention of building a leading resource for our community, our region and beyond. Our blueprint towards success is simple and can be summarized as follows: vision, system, achievements, commitment, and giving.
Our vision started 20 years ago when we set out to develop a leading regional children’s heart center that delivers state-of-the-art care with excellence in teaching, education and research in a compassionate environment. We also intended to provide philanthropic support to needy children with Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) and their families. Today, the Children’s Heart Center (CHC) at AUBMC is the only comprehensive heart center dedicated towards children with CHD in Lebanon and is one of the leading institutions in the region and beyond. It is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of more than 50 highly qualified physicians, nurses and allied healthcare providers.
It is the system that was developed which differentiated the CHC at AUBMC from others in the region. Developing such a system needed extensive efforts to pull together a team that works harmoniously in a multidisciplinary fashion and fosters collaboration among various pediatric disciplines, including the pediatric cardiology, pediatric cardiac surgery, intensive care professionals, EP specialists, anesthesia experts, pediatric cardiac imaging services, a nursing team, healthcare providers, and the special administrative team of the CHC, with a relentless pursuit for best quality and an aim to put patients and families first.
After 20 years of service and decades of preparation, the time has come to share the CHC achievements, stating the outcomes of our collective efforts. With great pride, we will illustrate the growing volumes and pinpoint our surgical outcomes that outranked many of the best centers in the world (Reference: Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)) with a success rate of around 98% for the year 2015. Our achievements extended beyond that since the CHC has performed throughout the past years several procedures that are considered as first of their kind in the world. In addition, the center has reported new discoveries in the field of pediatric cardiology. The Children’s Heart Center in partnership with the Congenital Heart Disease Genetic Program, has led a world class program which reported worldwide discoveries regarding the genetics causes of CHD and has trained tens of PhD/Master students and researchers.
Our unwavering commitment is another contributing element to the success CHC has attained throughout the years. AUBMC has always supported our dedication by providing the needed resources, allocating the facilities, and encouraging the growth and development of the center.
The success of building the CHC over the years has been cultivated by a culture of GIVING and sharing to our community supported by the Brave Heart Fund (BHF). This exceptional and exemplary grass root initiative at AUBMC aims to financially support the needy families and children with CHD in our country. Since its inception in 2003 and to date, the BHF has given the chance of life to 3,000 children. It is with giving and sharing and with the support and trust of our community that we have reached this level of excellence.
Last but not least, we will share the triumphs of our patients who believed in us and gave us the chance to treat them and to evolve and introduce new procedures that contributed to shape our experience and to reach this advanced level of high performance.
As the journey has just begun, CHC will strive to transform its outstanding efforts to the next level while sustaining its excellence. We are confident that our vision, teamwork, commitment and giving will pave the way to nothing but a bright future and a world class center, that all of us are proud of. The investments made today will yield a progressive center for years to come. We look forward to continuously improve our program and outcomes and we seek your partnership to better the lives of our patients.
Sincerely,
Fadi Bitar, MD
Professor and Director, Children’s Heart Center