Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Reaches Across Borders to
Repair Little Girl’s Heart

A medical intervention that began in the Dominican Republic in November 2006 was fulfilled this month when 5-year-old Zohe Tolentino Urena recovered from the surgical repair of her heart defect and returned home to her native country.

“Without surgery, this little girl faced a shortened life span with extreme fatigue, chest pain and eventual heart failure,” says, Dr. Joanne Starr, Director of Cardiac Surgery at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center. Zohe’s local cardiologist had diagnosed subaortic stenosis, a progressive narrowing at the origin of the major artery that supplies oxygenated blood to the entire body, but there were no local surgical experts to repair her heart. Dr. Starr and a team of 18 pediatric cardiac specialists from Children’s Hospital of New Jersey were invited to lend their expertise and time in support of Zohe and many other children in need of heart surgery in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, at the end of the week-long mission, Zohe’s operation simply could not be conducted before Dr. Starr’s team was slated to return home. “Her mother was saddened that we were not able to perform the surgery during that visit, however, we made it clear to her that we would not abandon our commitment to her little girl – we were going to find a way to get her to New Jersey and fulfill that promise one way or the other,” explains Dr. Starr.

The Gift of Life Rotary Club (District 7470) and the International Children’s Heart Foundation sponsored the child’s journey to Newark, NJ. She was accompanied by her mother, Janet. Gift of Life also sponsored the cardiac team’s mission to the Dominican Republic in November where they performed complex surgeries to correct the heart problems of 12 children, ages 10-months to 11-years-old. In addition, the team delivered thousands of dollars of donated supplies and medications that continue to support the heart health of children in that country.

“There are hundreds of children that could benefit from the kind of specialized care that we take for granted in the United States,” says Dr. Starr. “We cannot bring every child to our facility, but we can share our experience with local physicians who are committed to remaining in that country to provide the best care for children.” The cardiac team at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey will continue its partnership with physicians and nurses at the Hospital Infantil Regional Universitario - Arturo Grullon in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The ultimate goal is to foster development of a fully independent pediatric cardiovascular surgery program in that facility – with just a little help from their friends from Newark.

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