In early 2018, the University of Utah Health Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery was awarded the Edwards Every Heartbeat Matters grant through the Thoracic Surgery Foundation. The receipt of this grant allowed the Division, along with the Center for Global Surgery, to move forward with a long-held vision of helping to establish a cardiac surgery program in Mongolia.
Mongolia has experienced dramatic social, political, and economic transformations over the past 25 years. Owing to its mineral wealth, Mongolia became one of the fastest growing economies on the planet between 2011 and 2015. With continued growth and a newly stable political system, Mongolia has moved from a low-income to lower-middle income country, with expectations of reaching mid-high income country status in the near future. Still, disparities are significant throughout the region, with particular challenges in meeting the healthcare needs of Mongolia’s nearly 3 million residents. Hospital capabilities are defined by the population in that hospital’s region, meaning only designated hospitals have the resources available to perform complex surgeries. With transportation challenges throughout the country, patients in need often find themselves unable to access these limited resources. Only one facility performs heart surgery in the city of Ulaanbaatar, further and significantly limiting access for potential patients.
With this in mind, this collaboration aims to increase both access to and quality of cardiac surgical care in this region by creating a new cardiac surgery program at the First Central Hospital of Mongolia. Specifically, the objectives of this relationship are to 1) build infrastructure that will support successful implementation of a cardiac surgical program, 2) initiate educational programs for the heart team in Mongolia, and 3) development and growth of high quality heart surgery in Mongolia with the support of the Center for Global Surgery. The success of this collaboration is dependent, in part, on a strong relationship between the heart teams in Utah and Mongolia. And indeed, based on the work that has been accomplished so far, it looks as though these goals will be attainable.
In May 2018, a cardiac surgery team from the University of Utah headed to Mongolia. The team included one cardiac surgeon (Dr. Craig Selzman), one anesthesiologist (Dr. Candice Morrissey), one cardiologist (Dr. Kim Selzman), one cardiac perfusionist (Chris Blaylock), one surgical technician (Marv Stoddard), and two nurses (Kathleen Stoddard and Carlyn Sander). The team spent a week evaluating patients, completing surgeries, and providing educational seminars within the Mongolian health system. In addition, they met with the Ministry of Health and completed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing to the aforementioned objectives with First Central Hospital of Mongolia. After returning home, this team continued to communicate with their Mongolian counterparts, debriefing what had been learned during the visit and creating plans for forward movement.
In November 2018, a group of seven anesthesiologists, nurses, surgeons, and cardiologists from Mongolia came to Utah for two weeks. During this visit, they were able to observe pre-operative, surgical, and post-operative procedures, as well as following patient’s through their intensive care stay. They were also able to observe appointments and routine testing (e.g., echocardiograms) through our Cardiovascular Clinic.
Not only have strong working relationships been established in the months since this partnership began, but also genuine friendships. The heart teams in both Utah and Mongolia are optimistic, motivated, and eagerly anticipating a continued reciprocal collaboration in the years to come.