South Africa

Patient in South Africa Cape Town

As the only children’s hospital in southern Africa, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMCH) in Cape Town is an important partner site. Children’s HeartLink works in collaboration with RCWMCH and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA to develop, pilot and report on new strategies for critical care nurse training and retention. This unique partnership represents an international effort to reduce the exodus of nurses from developing countries by fostering professional development, enhancing job satisfaction and care of children in South Africa.

As a part of the pilot project, a group of nurse leaders from RCWMCH visited LPCH at Stanford University in March 2008, setting the stage for the “twinning relationship” the two hospitals formally entered into in December 2007. During the visit, the nurse leaders from RCWMCH observed nursing care and administrative practices, while continuing to develop professional relationships and exchange practices with their colleagues.

In November 2008, representatives from Children’s HeartLink, RCWMCH & LPCH spent time in Cape Town documenting the implementation of the project and tracking results. Following the meetings in Cape Town, representatives from all three organizations traveled to Durban, South Africa to attend the 9th Annual Congress of the South African Heart Association and presented the project.

The project and twinning relationship is sponsored by a grant from Medtronic to Children’s HeartLink.