Pro Criança Cardíaca started supporting low-income children with heart disease in 1996. Why did we choose to take care of these children? Because the number of families who were looking for help in the Dr Rosa's private clinic, CCI (Clínica Cardiológica Infantil, Child Cardiologic Clinic) was increasingly bigger each year. If we did not see them, we could just pretend they did not exist and we would not think about the problem. However, they were right there and they needed our help. The right moment had come.
We had our outpatient care organized and we could diagnose these children when necessary. We had created the Pediatric Unit in the Hospital Pró-Cardíaco with all necessary resources to provide medical heart care for children. We only needed to touch the hearts of the board of directors to add one more "C" to the structure we had. The CC stands for “criança carente” (low-income child). Due to de¬ciencies in the Brazilian public health system that did not have enough beds to provide medical care for these children, an increasingly number of patients sought our services and we had to grow to meet these needs. In 2001, with ¬nancing from BNDES and support from Amil Health Insurance and from our benefactor, we were able to open the headquarters of Pro Criança Caríaca at Rua Dona Mariana, 40 – Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro.
The non-profit medical institution, founded by the cardiologist Dr. Rosa Celia, who still leads the institution, was created because it was so difficult for her to say no to low-income families that sought her help in her private practice.
In its 27 years of work, Pro Criança Cardíaca has provided care for 100 thousand outpatients and almost performed 1.8 thousand invasive procedures such as heart surgeries and diagnostic and therapeutic catheterization.
With this facility, we were able to extend our support to low-income children, donating medicine and food. In 2003, under Dr. Pierre Neto Gentil’s administration and with Amil’s partnership, we opened our dentistry unit, a great advance in the clinical care of children with heart disease. In 2014, we founded Hospital Pediátrico Pro Criança Jutta Batista to keep up the work carried out at Pro Criança Cardíaca.
Every month, the institution renders services for approximately 160 low-income children that are cared for by a high-quality team of cardiologists.
When they arrive, our pediatric cardiologists perform clinical evaluation and tests such as electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. Hematological and holter evaluation are carried out at Hospital Pediátrico Pro Criança Jutta Batista and at the CCI. Should the patient need an invasive procedure, it will be carried out at Pro Criança Jutta Batista Pediatric Hospital. After discharge, the treatment continues at Pro Criança Cardíaca with the same team that ¬rst provided medical care for the child, bringing comfort and assurance for the family.
One of her main goals was that the health facility was not exclusive for medical procedure but also a complete structure to meet the needs of the children as well as their families’, offering a multidisciplinary care, including dentistry, dermatology, nutrition, psychology and ophthalmology.
And to provide help for food, meds, diapers, books and toys. The donations are essential to maintain the institution for the outpatients’ care and other services provided for children and their families by this philanthropic work, which also has a commitment with its staff and service providers in relation to humanized governance.
Pro Criança Cardíaca works towards a more human, ethical and sustained management and adopted pioneer attitudes in the Third Sector, in addition to be chosen for the third consecutive year as one of Brazil’s 100 best NGO and one of the 15 best Brazilian NGO in the health.
For many people, we are the only option, the only chance.
