Mongolian children get second chance at life through critical surgeries in Greenville | Eastern North Carolina Now

   News Release:

Vidant Medical Center partners with Samaritan's Purse to save lives

    GREENVILLE, NC     Two children from Mongolia are recovering with a host family in New Bern after having open-heart surgery at Vidant Medical Center in late October.

    One-year-old Tuguldur Ganzorig and 2-year-old Munkhbayar Munkhbat arrived in Greenville in mid-October with their mothers and an interpreter. The life-saving heart surgery they needed was not available in Mongolia, so Samaritan's Purse arranged for them to receive medical care in the United States.

    The surgeries were performed by Dr. Theodore Koutlas, associate professor of cardiovascular sciences, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, who said both procedures went well.

    Dr. Charlie Sang, a pediatric cardiologist with ECU, performed the pre-surgery medical evaluations and post-operative care of the children. Both children required a full dental exam before surgery to prevent infectious complications post-surgery. Dr. Jasper Lewis of Greenville provided this dental care. Eastern Radiology, as well as East Carolina Anesthesia Associates, provided charity care as well

    While staying with an American host family, both children, their mothers and an interpreter have experienced a life that could not be more different from their lives back home. Appropriately, the host family is preparing to include their Mongolian houseguests in a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration.

    Interview Opportunities:

    · Mongolian children and their mothers

    · Local host family

    · Cindy Bonsall, director of Children's Heart Project (via phone or Skype)

    · Dr. Charlie Sang

    Location: James and Connie Maynard Children's Hospital at Vidant Medical Center

    Time: Wednesday, Nov. 27, at 2 p.m.

    (NOTE TO MEDIA: PLEASE CALL CHRIS MACKEY AT 252-847-9390 IF PLANNING TO ATTEND.)

    B-roll is available at demoss.com/sp.

    About Vidant Medical Center:

    Vidant Medical Center, located in Greenville, North Carolina, is one of four academic medical centers in the state and is the flagship hospital for Vidant Health. It serves as the teaching hospital for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and is a regional resource for all levels of health services and information. The hospital is a tertiary referral center and provides acute, intermediate, rehabilitation and outpatient health services to more than 1.4 million people in 29 counties.

    About Children's Heart Project:

    Children's Heart Project is a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan's Purse. Led by Franklin Graham, Children's Heart Project has brought more than 960 children to North America to receive life-saving heart surgery and treatments currently unavailable in their home countries. The Project screens and identifies children suffering from congenital heart defects in Uganda, Mongolia, Bolivia and Honduras needing surgery, locates doctors and hospitals in North America willing to donate their medical services, arranges for host families, and accompanies the children, their mothers, and an interpreter to North America  -  furnishing round-trip transportation. To find out more information or to make a donation, visit www.samaritanspurse.org.

    Vidant Health, a mission-driven, not-for-profit corporation, owns, leases or has a majority membership interest in nine eastern North Carolina hospitals. The health system includes Vidant Beaufort Hospital, Vidant Bertie Hospital, Vidant Chowan Hospital, Vidant Duplin Hospital, Vidant Edgecombe Hospital, The Outer Banks Hospital, Vidant Medical Center, Vidant Pungo Hospital, Vidant Roanoke-Chowan Hospital, Vidant Home Health and Hospice,Vidant Wellness Centers, Vidant Medical Group and is affiliated with the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. You can find more information on the web at www.vidanthealth.com.

    Contact:
      Christine Mackey, Vidant Health, 252.847.9390 or Christine.mackey@vidanthealth.com