Rohit Malhotra, Pamela Mason, and Eliany Mejia-Lopez on the medical mission trip
Cardiovascular Medicine Electrophysiology faculty Dr. Pamela Mason and Dr. Rohit Malhotra, along with Electrophysiology Fellow Dr. Shiv Saxena, visited the Dominican Republic for a medical mission trip. UVA partners with a local charity, Heart Care Dominicana, to provide Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) therapy for vulnerable patients. Their national health insurance does not cover ICDs in even secondary prevention patients. They solicit device donations and take them to the Dominican Republic for implantation. Eliany Mejia-Lopez, former UVA EP fellow who is currently an Electrophysiology Physician in the Dominican Republic, identifies patients and follows them after implant. Approximately 20 local medical students and residents participated in clinical rounds and procedural observation. The UVA group provided ECG reading sessions for the trainees and gave Cardiology Grand Rounds for the Universidad Iberoamericana.