Introduction
The Alain Carpentier Foundation was created in 1987 thanks to Pr. A. Carpentier himself who is a famous French cardio-surgeon. The idea of creating the foundation came as an answer to a request from the Vietnamese government considering the alarming national health situation, especially regarding cardiac issues in the late 1980s.
A large part of the population was suffering from malformations and heart diseases which Vietnamese doctors were unable to cure because of a lack of financial means and skills. Heart issues were not one of the top priorities of public health concerns as the country was already suffering negative economic effects of the war.
The Heart Institute
After a precise diagnosis of patients’ needs for cardiac care during a visit in Vietnam, Pr. Carpentier met Pr. Duong Quang Trung who was in charge of the Public Health Department. They decided together to open and create an Institute entirely dedicated to cardiac surgery, focusing on the Vietnamese population. This center would also be a place of teaching and sharing of knowledge regarding cardiac surgery.
The Heart Institute finally opened in 1992, supported financially by the Alain Carpentier Foundation and education by the knowledge and expertise of a group of French surgeons. These individuals took their mission very seriously and were committed to teach their skills to the local doctors. Today, the Heart Institute operates on and saves more than 1,200 children per year in Ho Chi Minh City.
The International Medical Center (CMI)
Along with the creation of the Heart Institute in 1992, the Foundation also created the CMI of Ho Chi Minh City, which is a daily clinic located at the heart of the city, proposing many medical services and specialties for a wide range of Vietnamese and expatriates patients.
Care provided at CMI answers to daily needs and issues thanks to highly qualified practitioners from both nationalities, French and Vietnamese. Consultations for general medicine, pediatrics, osteopathy, ENT, gynecology, psychiatry, psychology, acupuncture, speech and psychomotor therapy are conducted in English, French and Vietnamese.
The specialty of the clinic is that all profits are redistributed to the social welfare department of the Heart Institute in order to finance the surgeries of deprived children.
The CMI is also in charge of the organization of the Charity Gala since 2011.