Published by the Daily Express (http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=126817)

Kota Kinabalu: Society For The Heart Fund (SOSHF) “Sabah Heart Kids” Support Group Centre at the SOSHF Centre in Likas Plaza, here, was launched Saturday in conjunction with the Welfare Month Celebrations 2018.

State Health and People’s Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wong said he was informed that the SOSHF needs the Support Group Centre, a place where individuals can come together and give moral support to one another, share their experiences and their lives that they are not alone in their journey.

He said it is also for people who have gone through similar situations where they can lift one another up.

“If 37 years ago there was a baby under your sponsorship, he would be 37 years old today and if that child was four years old, he or she is 41 years old today.

“It would be great for the SOSHF to see them returning and giving back to the Society which once has assisted them,” said Wong, who also noted that the Society is working to collect the data of all the 663 patients whom they have assisted.

“It would be good if they too could respond and come forward to register themselves with the SOSHF, as working from both ways or two ends are faster and will cut the time by half,” he said.

Organising chairperson Datuk Eva Susau, in her welcoming speech, said it took two years for the Support Group Centre to become a reality.

She found out the need for a support group here after visiting the Heart Kids Centre in Australia some years ago, so that more patients could learn and encourage each other.

“We want to get all the 600 plus of our patients to respond through direct contact or through the hospital when they come for review.

“Many of the SOSHF-sponsored children are already grown up and many have their own families.

We hope all our patients and their families can register with us.

“For the families having children with such disease, the ordeal they went through when first given the news could be devastating and feeling helpless. It would be encouraging to provide moral support to them from other families who have gone through similar experiences,” said Eva.

She said the Support Group was also concerned about the day-to-day realities of raising and caring for children with cardiac conditions and, sometimes, dealing with the loss of a child due to their congenital heart defect.

“Therefore, we can see how important is this support group for our community today so that they will not feel alone in their journey of a new lease of life.

“The Support Group Centre will also benefit our community by creating awareness of Congenital Heart Disease, a place to meet and share stories of Heart Kids, providing support and hope to the families of Heart Kids, and forming an educational and informational support network.

Eva added that the Support Group Centre is open once a week to the members on Friday from 9.30am until 3pm initially and will be adjusted from time to time to suit what is best for the users.

“This centre or unit will expand to other districts in due time. This is why it is important for us to get all our sponsored patients into our data system so we can proceed from there and form more units by the district,” she said, adding that membership is free.

Also present were SOSHF President Datuk Christine Vanhouten and Vice President Datuk William J. Chai. – Jo Ann Mool

Source: http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=126817

KOTA KINABALU: The Society for the Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHF) has raised RM123,434.65 from its recent 36th Anniversary Celebration Cum Fund Raising Charity Dinner.

SOSHF honorary secretary, Datuk Eva Susau said that the amount raised will go towards subsidizing the cost of airfare for the free medical treatment of its congenital heart patients and their escort to South Korea.

The fund will also be used to pay for the transportation fare and for the allowances of their young heart patients who could ill afford them while undergoing medical review at the specialist hospital in Kota Kinabalu.

In addition, it will also be used to kick start the support group for the SOSHF former congenital heart disease patients.

Eva explained that the cost of airfare to South Korea has risen since the beginning of this year.

She also elaborated their patients were mostly poor who were dependent on their livestock and farm to raise money before they could make it to the city for medical check-ups or appointments.

“Many times, some have been unable to come for their appointments because they simply do not have enough money to pay for the transport fare,” said Eva.

She added that candidates that were selected to undergo for the corrective heart surgery will first have to be assessed by the Social Welfare Department at the Likas Hospital or the Cardiac Paediatric Unit.

At the same time, Eva also said that they hope to kick start the Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) Support group which will consist of their former patients.

She said that part of the monies raised from the event would be used for this purpose.

She added that they hope to update all information on their ex-patients such as how they were doing after undergoing treatment and to create a database to record their over 600 sponsored patients.

“We would appreciate if they can call us at 088-228488 or contact us through our Facebook page Sabah Heart Fund or email us at sbhheartfund@gmail.com.”

Information concerning SOSHF can also be garnered from its website, www.sabahheartfund.com.

She said that SOSHF is hoping to organize a gathering with all its former patients.

Aside from that, the support group will also function as a network to connect all the former patients and provide support for families that suffered from the ordeal and do not know what to do after learning about their child’s hole in the heart predicament.

“We would like for these parents to know that there is hope even when your child is diagnosed with congenital heart disease,” she said.

Eva also expressed her gratitude who made the event possible and those who generously contributed for their cause.

Nevertheless, she reminded that there were still a lot of patients that needed assistance and urged the public to continuously give and support their mission.

ends

Kota Kinabalu, 29 Nov 2016 – The Cardiology team at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital successfully performed its first paediatric open heart surgery – a first for the private sector in Sabah. The patient is a 3-year-old girl from Papar, Sabah, who was diagnosed with ventricular
septal defect (VSD). She underwent surgery on 21 November 2016 and was discharged on 29 November 2016.
VSD, more commonly known as a hole in the heart, is the most common congenital heart disease. The incidence of congenital heart disease is up to 10 of every 1,000 newborns.

In Sabah, about 400 new cases of congenital heart disease are diagnosed every year.
“The Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu team is delighted with the outcome of this surgery. This
achievement is a remarkable testament to the clinical capabilities, outstanding medical
expertise and state-of-the-art equipment that Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital offers, which
enables us to treat complex cases. With this, we have taken another step closer to becoming
the private centre of reference in East Malaysia,” said Jean-Francois Naa, CEO of Gleneagles
Kota Kinabalu Hospital.
“Previously, most children with congenital heart disease had to travel to Peninsular Malaysia
or abroad to get treatment. With the establishment of Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital in
Sabah, we are now able to perform paediatric heart surgeries locally, giving them a new lease
on life,” said Dr Abu Bakar bin Mamat, Consultant Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital.
This paediatric open heart surgery is done as part of the hospital’s Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) programme, in collaboration with the Ministry through The Society for
Sabah Heart Fund (SOSHF), a member of Sabah Council of Social Services (MPMS). The
patient’s hospital expenses were fully paid for by the Khazanah IHH Healthcare Fund, which
provides partial and fully-sponsored medical treatment to needy patients in IHH’s home markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey.
Janet Chee Ken Liam, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Community Development and
Consumer Affairs Sabah, on behalf of Datuk Jainab Ahmad, Minister of Community
Development and Consumer Affairs Sabah, visited the little girl while she was recovering from
surgery at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital. Janet was accompanied by Dr Siva Rao,
Paediatric Cardiologist in Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 and Visiting Consultant at Gleneagles
Kota Kinabalu, Datuk Eva Susau, Honorary Secretary of SOSHF, Joeanne Lee, Executive
Secretary of MPMS, and Tan Hui Sin, Medical Social Worker, Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2.
“We were worried and anxious when we were told that she needed surgery after she was
diagnosed with VSD at 3 months old. During a checkup at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in October
this year, we were told again that she needs the surgery and were given the options to do it in
Kuala Lumpur or Kota Kinabalu. After considering the logistics problems, travelling costs and
the undue stress of having to leave behind the rest of our family, we chose to do it locally. We
are happy and relieved that she is recovering well – thanks to the Khazanah IHH Healthcare
Fund that we received and the excellent team of doctors and staff at Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu
Hospital,” said Jafarlie Matusin, father of the patient.
Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu Hospital is in discussion with the Ministry to provide help to the
local communities in Sabah who require paediatric heart surgery services.

For more information, please contact Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu’s Marketing Department at
088-518 880/088-518 882.