About Us

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

-Chinese proverb

We are a 501 (C) 3, all-volunteer organization whose mission is to bring life-saving cardiac care to orphaned and impoverished children in China. Comprised of adoptive parents, medical professionals, and in-China volunteers, we seek to raise awareness of the plight of children in China born with Congenital Heart Disease, provide education to those caring for these children, and assist in building the infrastructure necessary to provide them with the interventions they need. This work is done by highly skilled cardiac surgeons and cardiologists from the United States who work alongside, and train, cardiac surgeons and cardiologists in China. Our team of physicians also collaborate with those in China to create care plans for children in need residing in China’s orphanages and medical foster homes. Together, we are saving the lives of orphaned children while simultaneously advancing orphan care in China through training the latest techniques in open heart surgeries and interventional heart cath procedures. Our administrators in the U.S. and China work hand in hand with the China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption, Civil Affairs, orphanages, adoption agencies, and medical foster homes to promote education in the field of cardiac care.

Little Hearts Medical started when the Lee family from Washington state saw the need among critically ill orphaned children living at Little Flower Foster Home in Beijing, China. The family has two biologial children and four adopted children from China, including three who suffer from Congenital Heart Disease. These three children were unable to receive care in China, but received life-saving cardiac care upon their arrival in the US.

In 2012, the Lee family traveled to China to bring home their youngest child … Jian Jun, a little boy who was in Hospice care at Little Flower Foster Home. During their adoption trip to China, they met a talented heart surgeon at BaYi Children’s Hospital in Beijing who had cared for Jian Jun, but couldn’t repair his heart. He expressed a desire to meet the Lee’s doctors in the US and learn from them.

The family introduced this surgeon to their U.S. doctors, Dr. Stephen Langley, Director of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery and Dr. Laurie Armsby, Pediatric Cardiologist, both of whom worked at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon at the time.

Dr. Langley, Dr. Armsby and a team of medical professionals first traveled to China in October and November 2012, and then again in February 2013. During those trips, they worked with Chinese doctors to provide free care to orphans while laying the foundation for a promising collaborative relationship. Little Hearts Medical has since made several return trips to China where the organization has continued to expand its mission with the help of the China Center for Child Welfare and Adoption, Civil Affairs, medical foster homes including Little Flowers Project, and the Holt International China Foundation.

Little Hearts Medical is now partnered with medical professionals across the United States, as well as leading healthcare institutions in China to provide free, complex cardiac care to China’s neediest children.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Mike Lee

Co-founder and Chairman of the Board

In his role, Mike oversees organizational and strategic decisions and works closely with the board, Executive Director, our China staff and others to build relationships and plan strategic projects. Mike and Tanya have six children (including four adopted from China) and have worked to spread their vision for adoption and serving underprivileged children around the world.

Tanya Lee

Co-Founder and Director of Nursing

Tanya is a mother of two biological sons, three adopted daughters from China and one adopted son from China. She is responsible for interfacing with nursing professionals in the US and China and for coordinating training for nurses in China, as well as staff at our partner foster homes. Tanya is a Registered Nurse and earned her BS in Nursing from Walla Walla College.

OUR DOCS

STEPHEN LANGLEY, MBBS, MD, FRCS (CTH), FETCS

Chief of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa, FL
Clinical professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Education:

Dr. Langley received his medical degree from London University and underwent cardiac surgical training in Cambridge and Southampton, UK. After undertaking pediatric cardiac surgical fellowships at Great Ormond St. Hospital and Birmingham Children's Hospital, in 2002 he became an attending cardiac surgeon at Southampton University Hospital. He moved to Portland, Oregon in 2007 and became the Chief of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiac Surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. In 2015 he moved to Tampa, FL to take up his current position.

Jay Fricker, M.D.

Professor of Pediatrics Gerold Schleiber Eminent Scholar Chair
Congenital Heart Center at the University of Florida

Education:

Geneva College BS 1962-1966
Loyola-Stritch MD 1966-1970

1970-1971: Resident in Medicine/Pediatrics Mercy Hospital Pittsburgh
1971-1973: Resident in Pediatrics /Teaching Fellow Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
1973-1975: Major USAF Nellis AFB Nevada Tactical Air Command
1975-1977: Fellow Pediatric Cardiology Children’s Hospital at the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine
1977-1982: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of Pittsburgh
1982-1994: Associate Professor of Pediatrics University of Pittsburgh
1994-1995: Professor of Pediatrics University of Pittsburgh

1995-Present: Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Florida
The Schleiber Eminent Scholar Chair in Pediatrics was awarded in October of 1999.

Professional Interests:

My academic interests in Pediatric Cardiology have always centered around the management of heart failure in children. I was involved in the first Heart Transplant of a child at the University of Pittsburgh in 1982. Over the next decade I lead the growth and development of the Heart and heart Lung transplant program at Childrens Hospital at the University of Pittsburgh, one of the three pioneer heart transplant programs in the United States.

In 1995 I was recruited to the University of Florida to rebuild the academic and clinical Pediatric cardiology programs at the University of Florida. Over the past decade the University of Florida Pediatric Cardiology program has evolved into the Congenital Heart Center that houses all of the pediatric cardiology sub-specialists including the Congenital Heart Surgeons. Pulmonary Hypertension in children is my other clinical interest and currently the University of Florida has the only pulmonary hypertension center for children in the state of Florida. My other mission is medical Education and I have directed the Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology over the last five years at the University of Florida. We recently were accredited for the next five years by the ACGME.

International Healthcare and Missions is a passion. I believe the University of Florida has an obligation to take their healthcare expertise Globally to establish programs of excellence where there are none. I have led general Medical/Dental missions on the Amazon through Amazon Vision Ministries. In addition I have participated in Pediatric Cardiology/Cardiovascular Surgical programs in Jamaica(Jamaican Heart Foundation) and in the Middle East(Westbank with PCRF Palestinian Childrens Relief Fund)

J. John Blaine, MD, FACC, FASE

Medical Advisor, Little Hearts Medical

Current Position:
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, USF

Dr. John is a native Floridian, born and raised in Pensacola. He was awarded his bachelor of science degree from Davidson College in North Carolina, where he designed his own major in medical humanities. He graduated cum laude as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and graduated with honors as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. John then received the MAP-Reader's Digest International Fellowship and the Christian Medical Society's Westra Fellowship for his medical missionary work in Zambia, Africa. Dr. John returned to Florida and completed a pediatrics residency at the University of Florida. He trained in pediatric cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine, where he then completed advanced training in non-invasive and fetal cardiology.

Dr. John's clinical interests include echocardiography, fetal cardiology, and intensive care cardiology. He also enjoys the time he spends teaching the medical students and residents of the University of South Florida. He is board certified in pediatric cardiology. Dr. John is the proud father of three children.

Specialty:

Non-Invasive and Fetal Cardiology

The Rest of Our Team

Ann Bartlinski, Special Projects Coordinator

Ann is the mother of eleven children, seven of whom were adopted from China, plus she has three grandchildren.
Ann has spent the past ten years advocating for orphans in China. After the death of her daughter Teresa in 2013, Ann joined Little Hearts Medical. It is Ann's vision to provide medical care and early intervention for orphans born with severe cardiac disease in China.

Dr. Edward Bartlinski, Special Projects Assistant and Medical Advisor

Dr. Bartlinski's passion is helping to provide medical care to China's orphans. On numerous trips to China he has helped to asses and identify orphans with medical conditions requiring intervention. He is driven by the memory of his daughter Teresa and loves helping the orphans.

I am Dennis Yang, AKA Yang Xuanbo, a former international adoption coordinator with more than 10 years experience in the tourism industry. Little Hearts Medical's trips to China are great for building a bridge to shorten the gap in skills for Chinese medical teams and help them to more successfully save the lives of children who are born with complex heat defect. More importantly, Little Hearts Medical has helped enhance the awareness in China of the importance of early intervention for children with heart defects to avoid the disease turning into irreparable situations such as pulmonary hypertension.

Susan Song, In-China Coordinator

I feel very grateful to join Little Heart Medical as I feel I am doing good things with LHM medical team. I have been helping American adoptive families since 1996. Part of my work with LHM involves being a contact with the CCCWA, orphanages, helping adoptive families during their adoption trips to China, and working with the LHM teams when they travel to China. Many heart children have been adopted or their condtion got better through our efforts. Let's get together to help more heart kids through Little Heart Medical.

Lijing Lu, Child Identification Coordinator

Lily is the English name I chose when I started the orphan care work in 2006 because I like flowers. I was born in a small village in China. I was majored in English teaching in college but never worked as teacher after graduation. In 2006, I started to work in the orphan care and life-saving work with China Care which had one medical care home in Beijing and several other care homes in other cities. I have been "addicted" to it since then. I love my work so much and I spend a lot of time on the work. I do have other interest too like taking photos, hiking, cooking, reading. I learned a lot from this work. Whenever I see a child's sweet smile, I feel the most happiness in the world!

Sarah Karlsen, Public Relations Assistant

I got married at the age of 18 and was transplanted from a small town in New Hampshire to the Pacific Northwest. Together with my husband, Paul, we raised 10 children and were inspired by the Lee family to adopt our eleventh child from China in 2014. Little Riini Mei was born with a heart defect and was examined by the LIttle Hearts Medical team while she was in China. When playing hooky from the endless dishes and Mt. Everest sized laundry piles, I enjoy my 52 rose bushes, hiking and crafting.