Tegucigalpa, January 2021. With the sole purpose of increasing the number of Pediatric specialties offered to infant population, on January 1, under the authority of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH) and with the collaboration of Hospital Maria, Especialidades Pediátricas (HMEP) the first Pediatric Cardiology Program initiated.
In 2019 Honduran infant population increased, to a ratio of 22 out of every 1,000 inhabitants, which means that 213,000 children are born annually. Nearly one in 100 babies is born with a heart defect, which means that 2,134 infants need to be attended by a pediatric cardiologist. Only about 8 to 10 cardiologists exist in the country.
With these new Interventional cardiologists at HMEP, the wait time for these children to be attended will be decreased, and the lives of many Honduran children will be saved.
Research and Academic Coordinator, Dr. Dina Alvarez, quoted “this effort is consistent with the Hospitals vision, to become not only a national reference healthcare center, but also a teaching hospital for medical and nursing students to decrease the need for specialized pediatric personnel”.
Dr. Sonia Solórzano, Academic Program Coordinator for Pediatric Cardiology at UNAH, expressed ” To the country’s National University, initiating a new postgraduate program responds to the need to train professionals in the field of medicine, that are crucial for Honduras infant population. The Initiation of a Pediatric Cardiology subspecialty represents a substantial advancement.”
Before, all children with heart disease had to wait for Medical Brigades from the United States and Costa Rica. Since 2018, HMEP began consolidating a multidisciplinary team up of heart surgeons, Intensive care doctors, anesthesiologists, Perfusionists, echocardiography technicians, clinical and interventional cardiologists that have established a national program for the care of pediatric patients with heart disease. The initiation of this sub-specialty is significant for the training of new specialists in this area, which is crucial for our country.