Little Heart Heroes

Background

Children born with complex structural heart disease are often excluded from many recreational programs because they require higher levels of medical care. Most community programs do not have the facilities or expertise to care for this patient population. It is important for all children to have equal access to social and developmental opportunities as well as to maintain their health and wellness. This is especially important for children born with heart disease as they are more prone to having developmental deficits or delays.

Little Heart Heroes,is a medically supervised camp specifically created for children born with heart disease. It will provide a normalizing experience wherein children born with heart disease get to meet others who have had similar experiences, socialize with their peers in a safe setting, and experience a developmental opportunity similar to children who do not have the same medical needs. Our inaugural camp will be held in August 2016 and will recur annually. Camp will provide a reprieve for families who otherwise don’t get breaks from taking care of their children given the limited number of programs that these children are able to participate in. This is important to alleviate caregiver fatigue and to promote resiliency and independence among the children and their families. The camp will be offered free of charge so there are no barriers to participation. This is especially critical in this patient population as children born with heart disease can often spend very lengthy periods of time in the hospital which can be very financially burdensome for their families, especially those who are not from Edmonton.

The camp will be medically supervised by the same individuals involved of the care of these patients at the hospital. This allows us to get to know the children in a completely different setting and promotes advocacy skills among the residents (physicians-in-training) and physician groups. It also gives the families peace of mind knowing their children are well-looked after.

Visit: http://www.littleheartheroes.com

Our Vision

Provide a safe, fun camp experience for children with heart disease who would not otherwise be able to attend camp on an annual basis. In doing so, we hope to alleviate caregiver fatigue by providing a reprieve to families who don’t often get a break from looking after their child born with heart disease and eliminate barriers to participation by offering the camp at no cost to the families. Patient advocacy will be promoted by allowing residents and physicians to interact with patients outside of the hospital setting.

Long-Term Vision

Creation of a long-term sustainable camp site to host our camp as well as camp for other children with higher medical needs (i.e. children who have neurosurgery) and use that camp site as a respite centre for families (i.e. palliative care patients).

Team