Healing the Children Northeast | | |
Dear Healing the Children Northeast Supporters,
Happy Summer!
It is hard to believe we are halfway through 2025, and what a busy year it has been so far! The staff and Board of Directors would like to wish you all a joyous summer filled with good health, relaxation and leisure time spent with loved ones.
| | Our Medical Trips Abroad program started January 2025 with Dr. Steven Roser’s team traveling to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Dr. Roser has volunteered with HTCNE since 1992 and has led a team to Santa Cruz since 2013. His team screened 62 patients, performing 36 cleft lip and palate surgeries. The team donated an estimated $190,000 in medical services and supplies during this trip. This team also had a speech language component, where they provided services to 46 patients and trained 36 local medical residents. | | |
In February, Dr. Robert Gilman’s team of 23 volunteers traveled to Cartagena, Colombia to perform cleft lip and palate surgeries. Dr. Gilman has been leading this HTCNE trip to Cartagena since 2001. This trip screened 98 patients and performed 58 surgeries to children in need.
| The last week of March saw two HTCNE medical teams depart. Dr. Evan Ransom led a team of 39 to Ica, Peru. Dr. Ransom first traveled to Ica in 2014. The team worked with our hosts to fly in patients from surrounding areas to receive care from our team in Ica. They were able to screen 110 patients and perform 80 surgeries, with a total amount of donated medical services and supplies estimated to be $2,276,250. This team also had a speech language component, and provided services to 105 patients and donated medical supplies and services worth an estimated $26,650.Y | That same week, Dr. Mark Foglietti's surgical team led by Dr. Inad Janineh returned to Santa Marta, Colombia to perform burn and hand reconstruction surgeries for children. The team of 18 volunteers screened 86 patients and performed 42 surgeries during their time in Colombia. The team donated an estimated $348,000 in medical services and supplies during this trip. | Dr. Steven Roser returned to Santa Cruz, Bolivia in April, for the second time this year, with 9 volunteers as a cleft teaching team. The team screened 32 patients, performing 16 cleft lip and palate surgeries to children in need while training local staff. | |
May was a busy month at HTCNE, as we had two medical trips traveling and we awarded our annual Medical Career Scholarships.
Dr. Manoj Abraham and our partners at Razom sent a trauma & plastics team back to Lviv, Ukraine.
| |
Hear from Susan Ketigian, seasoned HTCNE volunteer RN
and Board Member about her fourth trip to Ukraine.
Dr. Dane Barrett led a surgical teaching team to Mwanza, Tanzania for the third year in a row. The team saw patients with devastating injuries from various incidents, from automobile accidents to an 8 year old boy who had been attacked by a hyena. This team also led AED training for local hospital staff and had a speech language component as well.
| | |
HTCNE’s Domestic Kids Program has evolved over the years and is now an annual Medical Career Scholarship to New Milford High School seniors who plan to pursue a career in the medical field. HTCNE Board Member Steve Nargiso presented the 2025 Scholarships to Saverio Amelio, Madison McKelvey & Gabriel Larsen. Saverio is committed to the University of Connecticut majoring in nursing, Madison is attending Southern Connecticut State University for neonatal nursing and Gabriel is attending the University of Connecticut for molecular and cellular biology with a pre-medicine track. Congratulations to these New Milford High School seniors!
On June 24, we hosted our 20th Annual Golf Outing which was held at Waccabuc Country Club, in Waccabuc, New York. Despite the 99 degree heat, the golfers took the course and a great time was had by all. The reception that followed was held in honor of Dr. Christine Verna, Pediatrician, who has traveled with HTCNE to Colombia, Peru and India to care for the children we treat. Honors were also presented to Michael E. Russell, whose compassion and generosity has assisted many of our medical volunteers to travel with us on missions around the world. The funds raised at this annual event allow us to continue our mission. We are truly grateful for all the support we received!
| | This week, Dr. Manoj Abraham is currently in Mwanza, Tanzania with a HTCNE plastics teaching team. | | |
Coming up in October, Dr. Andrew Jacono & Dr. Sean Alemi will return to Santa Marta, Colombia for their annual trip to perform cleft lip and palate surgeries.
2026 is looking busy, with future dental and surgical trips already in the planning stages
Through our International Inbound Program, HTCNE continues to support nine-year-old Nagalem, from southwestern Ethiopia, who had a large venous malformation on her neck and jaw. HTCNE brought her to the US in 2021 for treatment and continues to support her health and dental care needs. Unfortunately, now the malformation is coming back. She requires steroid injections to slow and potentially stop the regrowth. She can not get these injections in Ethiopia and our team is working with specialists that might be able to treat her again in the US. In the meantime, we are monitoring her situation and will provide financial support for her medical expenses as needed.
| | |
As always, we want to thank you for your support in keeping our small office staff running.
We couldn’t operate without your generosity.
Thank you & stay tuned for more updates from HTCNE!
Please find us on Facebook and "like" our page.
Check out our website at www.HTCNE.org to see what’s new and exciting!
| | | | |
