Respiratory Therapists Travel To Perform

Open Heart Surgeries On Kids

DANBURY — Two Danbury Hospital respiratory therapists recently returned from a volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic, part of a nationwide health care team that performs open heart surgery on poor children with life-threatening cardiac illnesses and conditions.

Bill Gronke, supervisor of Respiratory Services, and colleague Dave Kreiger traveled with a team of 100 volunteers with Heart Care International, a Greenwich-based nonprofit organization that provides open heart surgery to poor children and young adults in developing countries. The two were in Santo Domingo in February for ten days, providing respiratory support services to a team of volunteer surgeons doing more than 40 open-heart cases during the 23-day trip.

Mr Gronke and Mr Kreiger, part of a team of nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists, tell of grueling 12-hour days, but the effort was worth it, they said.

 “It is wonderful to see such a team effort; everyone works so hard and well together toward the same goal of helping these kids. The parents always say, ‘thanks for giving my child a chance,’” said Mr Gronke.

Their life-saving heart trip was especially timely, since Danbury Hospital performed its first open heart surgeries only weeks before. In late January, cardiac surgeons at Danbury Hospital began offering open heart surgery to patients in the community.

This was the fifth trip for Bill Gronke, who has also been to Guatemala, and the ninth trip for Dave Kreiger, who previously traveled with a team to China. Both find these trips, which they take using vacation time from work, very rewarding. “It’s satisfying to know that we’ve helped these children have a better quality of life,” said Mr Gronke. “The team gives them their life back.”

All of the children, according to Mr Gronke, have very serious congenital heart problems, including cardiac anomalies, holes in their hearts, reversed veins, and other conditions. The youngest child operated on during this recent trip was only 4 months old. The oldest was a 12-year-old girl who needed an aortic valve repair. The group has been in the same hospital, Plaza De La Salude, for five years now. According to Mr Kreiger, some former patients have returned to volunteer in their community. “When they see us, they will open their shirts to show us their chest scar.”

In addition to providing respiratory support, which includes monitoring children on the ventilator and providing respiratory care, medication, and chest therapy, the team helps train the medical staff in these countries to be self-sustaining. This will be the last major trip to Santa Domingo, according to Mr Gronke and Mr Kreiger, since there is now a trained and self-supporting team to continue a pediatric heart surgery program.

In many cases, the hospitals are underequipped, and Heart Care International must bring its own equipment and medications, or rely on technology that is less than state-of-the-art. “Dave is especially helpful,” said Mr Gronke, “because he knows how to fix the machines, if necessary.”

During their recent trip to Santo Domingo, the hospital was fairly modern. But both have worked in poor conditions in other countries. “People just have no idea of the poverty these people face,” said Mr Gronke.

“We feel lucky to be in a career where we can offer our services to help save lives,” said Mr Gronke. Mr Kreiger agrees. “If every one of us put a small part of our lives into humanitarian service, there would be much less poverty and despair in the world.”

The two respiratory therapists often are asked to speak at the hospital and in the community about their experiences. “A lot of people don’t have a skill or can offer a service like this. It’s very satisfying to be able to help these kids.”

If anyone is interested in more information or to contribute, visit www.heartcareintl.org.