Guyana Program to Advance Cardiac Care
GPACC
Reliable information on the prevalence/classification of heart disease, essential to national prevention and management policies, is lacking in Guyana, as is expertise in diagnosis and management of children and adults with heart disease. The Guyana Echocardiography Education Program was started by Dr. Debra Isaac in 2012 with donated equipment, volunteer medical specialists and technologist instructors in 2012. Partial financial support of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute in Calgary has also helped to further identify the high burden of cardiac disease in that country.
In order to more fully address the need for improved cardiac care in Guyana, the Guyana Program to Advance Cardiac Care (GPACC), directed and administered by Dr. Debra Isaac and Dr. Wayne Warnica, was initiated under the umbrella of Global Health and International Partnerships in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary. This program has led to the development of a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Heart Failure Clinic, and fully functioning Echo and CV Lab.
Provision of health care education is at the core of GPACC, and our educational offerings have been formalized into certificate programs in Cardiac Nursing, Echosonography, and Cardiovascular Technology, as well as a formal Fellowship in Echocardiography, and educational programs in biomedical technology. Funding from the Cumming School of Medicine Research fund, Libin Cardiovascular Institute, and Rotary International have been critical to the implementation of this ongoing program.
The Guyana Program to Advance Cardiac Care has already led to sustainable and significantly improved provision of patient care as well as enhanced academic medical activity in Guyana, accomplished through educational, research, and clinical initiatives, but much more needs to be done.
Key contacts:
Dr. Debra Isaac
Dr. Wayne Warnica
Project partners:
Georgetown Public Hospital
Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta
Rotary International