Ugandan Children Receive Life-Saving Treatment For Heart Defects At Children's National Medical Center

Ugandan Children Receive Life-Saving Treatment For Heart Defects At Children's National Medical Center

Through partnership with Samaritan's Purse and Gift of Life, patients travel to United States **Media Note: Patients will be at Children's National for farewell visit on Tuesday, February 24**

Washington, DC --On February 12, two Ugandan children received life-saving procedures at Children's National Medical Center (http://www.childrensnational.org/?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=2_23&utm_campaign=uganda) to correct severe heart defects. Without cardiac surgery, the young boys would likely have died before adulthood, but they now have a normal life expectancy.

As part of the Phase I of a global initiative to bring attention to the health needs of Ugandan children, 15-month-old Daniel Kamaramasu and 2 ½-year-old Allan Wassanyi traveled 5,000 miles to receive treatment unavailable at home. Daniel, who was born with a blocked valve between his heart and lungs, was successfully treated using a cardiac catheterization balloon procedure by Michael Slack, MD (http://www.childrensnational.org/FindADoctor/Doctor_Marqui.aspx?DocId=470&Name=Michael%20Slack?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=2_23&utm_campaign=uganda). Allan, who had a very large hole in his heart, underwent successful open heart surgery by Richard Jonas, MD (http://www.childrensnational.org/FindADoctor/Doctor_Marqui.aspx?DocID=1195&Name=Richard%20Jonas?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=2_23&utm_campaign=uganda).

The boys came to Children's National through a partnership with international relief organization Samaritan's Purse, Gift of Life International (GOLI), and other organizations. Through this partnership, pediatric cardiologist Craig Sable, MD (http://www.childrensnational.org/FindADoctor/Doctor_Marqui.aspx?DocId=424&Name=Craig%20Sable?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=2_23&utm_campaign=uganda) has led seven medical missions to Uganda in an effort to provide treatment for patients and ultimately build a sustainable cardiac surgery program in Uganda. More than 100 children have received life-saving treatment since the program began in 2003.

"With the dedication of organizations like Samaritan's Purse and Gift of Life, patients from around the world have access to the expert pediatric care that is available to children in the United States," said Dr. Sable.

Added Cindy Bonsall, director of Samaritan's Purse's Children's Heart Project: "We're glad this partnership has enabled so many Ugandan children to receive the cardiac care they deserve. We're glad they will be returning home soon with a second chance at life."

A key component of the missions to Uganda has been training Ugandan surgeons. Through training provided by Dr. Sable and colleagues, Ugandan surgeons are now on the verge of doing simple cardiac procedures on their own. Dr. Sable directs the Telemedicine Program at Children's National, which provides training and educational opportunities around the world.

The groups have joined forces to implement "Our Hearts Are In Uganda," which will focus all of GOLI's efforts in Uganda. The first phase of the program included treatment for Daniel, Allan, and three other children at hospitals in the United States. The next phase will bring 25 more Ugandan children to hospitals throughout the world to receive life-saving treatment for heart defects.

"We have saved the lives of more than 10,000 children, and through this partnership, we hope to expand our reach, to ultimately create a program in Uganda to ensure that all the children have access to the medical care they need," said Lou del Rosario, vice chairman of GOL District 7230, who was instrumental in raising funds for Allan's operation.

MEDIA NOTE: The patients will be returning to Children's National for a farewell visit on Tuesday, February 24. The patients and Dr. Craig Sable will be available for interviews. Contact Emily Dammeyer or Jenn Leischer at 202-476-4500.

About Children's National Medical Center (http://www.childrensnational.org/about/?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=2_23&utm_campaign=uganda)

Children's National Medical Center, located in Washington, DC, is a proven leader in the development of innovative new treatments for childhood illness and injury. Children's has been serving the nation's children for more than 135 years. Children's National is proudly ranked among the best pediatric hospitals in America by US News & World Report and the Leapfrog Group. For more information, visit www.childrensnational.org.

About Samaritan's Purse

Samaritan's Purse identifies children needing life-saving heart treatment through its' Children's Heart Project. The international relief organization identifies children overseas who need heart surgery, matches them with hospitals and specialists willing to donate their time and services, places them with a local host family, and arranges international travel and an interpreter. More than 550 children from nine countries have been brought to North America for medical and surgical care not available in their home countries.

About Gift of Life International

Gift of Life is a Rotary based program in more than 50 Rotary Clubs and Districts on 6 continents. GOLI aims to save as many children's lives as possible by providing life saving open heart surgery to children from infancy to 18 years of age with congenital heart defects. GOLI has been responsible for saving more than 10,000 lives during the past 33 years.

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Contact Information Emily Dammeyer

Children's National Medical Center

http://www.childrensnational.org

202-476-4500

Telecommunicator Turn-Over Rate Reaches 19 Percent

Telecommunicator Turn-Over Rate Reaches 19 Percent

APCO's Next Generation Project RETAINS Study Identifies Additional Public Safety Communications Staffing Trends and Issues

Alexandria, VA (Vocus) February 23, 2009 -- The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International today released a follow-up report to its Project RETAINS (Responsive Efforts to Assure Integral Needs in Staffing), which finds the national telecommunicator turn-over rate at 19 percent, an increase of three percent since the initial study conducted in 2005 and higher than the better-known turn-over rates of nurses and teachers. The report also includes highly sought-after guidelines to estimate the appropriate staffing levels for dispatchers.

"Too often it takes catastrophic events to shed light on the urgent contributions public safety communications work makes to our nation's well being," APCO International President Chris Fischer said. "During more routine moments, public safety professionals labor well out of the public eye and, often, with limited resources and insufficient support."

Seeking to assess the conditions under which communications centers are employed, APCO International established Project RETAINS, which resulted in a 2005 report and the Project RETAINS toolkit. This second Project RETAINS study, Staffing and Retention in Public Safety Communications Centers: A Follow-up Study, sought to extend APCO International's knowledge of communications center staffing issues not addressed in the first study and to gauge the degree to which Project RETAINS has proven useful.

This report examined communications centers' retention rates, employees' organizational commitment, and employees' psychological distress. Despite the broad differences between centers of different size, location and type, a number of patterns emerged in this study that hold relevance for the nation's communications centers. First, the overwhelming majority (83 percent) of centers have experienced an increase in the number of dispatched calls in the previous three years. In addition, rates of retention are significantly affected by the hourly salary which starting employees receive and the flexibility of work schedules. Further, the findings draw attention to the need that employees express for greater support, recognition, and appreciation, whether from their supervisors and center directors or from the public at large. Finally, communications centers that have used the Project RETAINS toolkit indicated that retention had significantly increased over the past three years.

"Project RETAINS was created to provide our organization with a better understanding of the issues experienced by our members and effective ways to address them and, by those standards, we have succeeded," Fischer said. "However, we continue to battle with the goal of awareness and truly believe that full success will not be realized until the public has a greater understanding of and appreciation for the work of these talented and dedicated professionals."

The full report of this study is free for APCO International members and can be downloaded at http://www.apcointl.com/new/commcenter911/retains_at_a_glance.php. Members of the press interested in receiving a copy of the report or talking with someone about the findings should contact Courtney McCarron Hastings at mccarronc(at)apco911.org. A summary of the report is available to the public at http://www.apcointl.com/new/commcenter911/retains_at_a_glance.php. For more information on Project RETAINS, visit http://www.apcointl.com/new/commcenter911/retains.php.

About APCO International

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International is the world's oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to the enhancement of public safety communications. APCO International serves the professional needs of its 15,000 members worldwide by creating a platform for setting professional standards, addressing professional issues and providing education, products and services for people who manage, operate, maintain and supply the communications systems used by police, fire and emergency medical dispatch agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.apcointl.org.

Contact:

Courtney McCarron Hastings

571.312.4400 x7002

mccarronc(at)apco911.org

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Contact Information Courtney McCarron

APCO

http://www.apcointl.com/new/commcenter911/retains_at_a_glance.php

571-312-4400+7002