Heart to Heart continues medical-training efforts in China

BEIJING, P.R.C./May 27, 2005 – Heart to Heart International Inc., a leading humanitarian organization working in the People’s Republic of China, today introduced its 2005 delegation to donors and media in Beijing. This delegation, comprised of nearly 20 volunteers, will enhance Heart to Heart’s medical-education programs that operate year-round in Sichuan Province.

“We have formed an effective alliance with Sichuan health officials and are working together to target specific health concerns and improve the quality of life throughout the province,” said Barbi Moore, Heart to Heart’s senior vice president for International Programs. “We recruit specialists to assist us each year in three ongoing training programs.”

Heart to Heart uses these volunteers in an effective, train-the-trainer model for the following programs:

• Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP): Heart to Heart plays an active role in helping infants take their first breath in Sichuan. Through the NRP, our volunteers and onsite staff equip and teach vital resuscitation techniques developed by the America Academy of Pediatrics. Since 2000, this program has helped to cut Sichuan’s infant-mortality rate in half.

• Mobile Eye Treatment Center: Heart to Heart has teamed up with ophthalmologists from the Dean McGee Eye Institute of the University of Oklahoma to train rural physicians on cataract surgical techniques and provide post-operative care. This year, Heart to Heart is on track to provide 3,000 cataract surgeries.

• Pre-Hospital Emergency Training: Heart to Heart has recently developed a training curriculum that addresses the treatment and care of major trauma victims through pre-hospital emergency response. Initiated last year and embraced by health officials, this hands-on training program is expected to bolster Sichuan’s emergency medical system.

Heart to Heart volunteers will also work at a retirement center near Chengdu, improving the quality of life at the center through various service projects and activities.