Heart Attack Ethiopia: Medical duo part of team saving lives in their home country
ATLANTA - Two doctors from metro Atlanta are leading a cardiac care team to their home country of Ethiopia in hopes of improving heart health as well as delivering over a million dollars in medical supplies.
Dr. Tesfaye Telila is an interventional cardiologist at Piedmont Newnan Hospital and Dr. Obsinet Merid is on the faculty at Morehouse School of Medicine. Married, both accomplished and raising four children here in metro Atlanta, they say they could not ignore the critical need for cardiac care in their home country of Ethiopia, so they founded a nonprofit organization called Heart Attack Ethiopia.
Telila and Merid will lead a medical team of 16 people to their home country of Ethiopia next month. That will include four doctors and their support staff.
Dr. Tesfaye Telila and Dr. Obsinet Merid are part of cardiac care team from Georgaia headed to Ethiopia in hopes of improving heart health as well as delivering over a million dollars in medical supplies. (FOX 5)
They say Ethiopia has a waiting list of over 6,000 people who need immediate cardiac care. Dr. Telila says many of them are young adults.
"How young these patients are is just mind-blowing. The workforce of the country is sick and waiting for somebody to do something about it," Telila said.
As FOX 5 has reported, Heart Attack Ethiopia conducted its first mission trip last February. They say they performed 32 procedures. And they laid the groundwork for future missions like the one coming up in August.
"Keep in mind that our organization has been around of just a little bit over a year. It feels like we’ve been around for a while just because of how much work we’ve accomplished so far," Merid said. She is the President and CEO of the nonprofit.
Heart Attack Ethiopia is a nonprofit which is trying to improve the heart health of those in Ethiopia. (FOX 5)
Look at the difference six months has made between their first mission trip and the next one planned in August.
A medical team of six has grown now to 16 members. They performed 32 procedures in February. They now have scheduled over 70 procedures, including 20 open-heart surgeries. Last time they delivered an amazing $350,000 in medical supplies. This time they will deliver over $1 million in supplies that will stay behind.
They both grew up in Ethiopia. Both have experienced tragic losses because of conditions there, including a very young sister for Dr. Merid. Their own personal stories motivate them.
"I know that 6,000 people on a waiting list is pretty overwhelming and daunting, but our goal is to develop a system, a robust system that will be able to absorb these patients as well as new patients that will be added," said Merid.
Heart Attack Ethiopia says it has a waiting list of more than 6,000 people who need immediate cardiac care. (FOX 5)
"These 6,000 people, their most common symptom is shortness of breath. They can’t breathe, they can live well, they are breathless. So, every time we go there we make someone breathe, said Telila.
You can learn more about Heart Attack Ethiopia online at their website as well as on Facebook.