FOUNDER and CEO of the Heart Institute of the Caribbean (HIC) Dr Ernest Madu was named by Grupo Mídia among the 100 most influential people in health care at its awards ceremony held recently in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The award ceremony was held during MEDICA 2017 — the world’s largest medical trade show — a release from HIC said.

Since opening its facilities on Balmoral Avenue in Kingston, Jamaica, in 2005, the release said HIC has been making world-class heart health services available to all Jamaicans. Through its foundation, which is led by its Executive Director Lisa D’Oyen, HIC has made these services available to lower-income citizens by subsidising the cost associated with providing access to high-quality cardiovascular care that is more readily available in the developed world.

According to the release, for the past 12 years HIC Foundation has provided more than US$12 million in free or subsidised care to its patients — a significant contribution as more than half of the hospital deaths in Jamaica are caused by cardiovascular disease.

Dr Madu, who is a cardiologist, had this to say on receiving his award: “Although there have been significant advances in medical technology globally, the developing world has been left behind. The Heart Institute of the Caribbean is working hard to change that reality as cardiac-related illnesses continue to be the number one cause of death in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Our mission is to provide the latest in cardiac care to our patients and to lead the charge towards increasing access to the highest level of health care available to everyone — regardless of their socio-economic background.

“I am humbled and grateful to Grupo Mídia for its award. I accept it graciously with the hope that it will bring more attention to the global need for more access to appropriate technology and affordable quality health care for people living in low-resource nations across the world,” he is quoted as saying in the release.

Earlier this year, Dr Madu was honoured by the American College of Cardiology with the distinguished cardiologist award, the highest honour given each year to the most distinguished cardiologists, as decided by their peers internationally, the release said.

Over the years, HIC has expanded its services to meet the needs of its growing clientele. These include a recent investment of more than US$4 million to open the region’s first and only full-service 24-hour heart hospital. Through a US$83,000 grant from the Japanese Government, HIC purchased two additional cardiac ambulances to expand its fleet of dedicated cardiac ambulances to offer the only cardiac emergency ambulance service in Jamaica. All HIC cardiac ambulances are fully equipped with resuscitation devices, including ventilators, and have the capability for telemedicine — allowing remote intervention from cardiac specialists, the release said.

Grupo Mídia is a multimedia company based in Brazil that publishes the magazines, Healthcare Management, HealthARQ and Health-IT.

Dr Madu was named in the category of philanthropy — which was one of 10 categories including: associations, business, education and research, health care management, hospitals, industry, innovation, international reference and sustainability.

Ten winners were selected for each category, the release said.