The Jo Ann Medical Center (JAMC)
Born of ambition and dedication, the Jo Ann Medical Center was the first project undertaken by Global Healing. Beginning in 1994, the focus of the organization was the establishment of a much needed, modern pediatric cardiac diagnosis, surgery and treatment center in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The center opened in September 1996 and today it is fully self-sufficient and services now include the following:

JAMC Pediatric Cardiac Surgery & Diagnostic Center
Global Healing established the JAMC on a shoestring annual budget of only $65,000 over five years to create the first ever pediatric cardiac surgery center in the Republic of Georgia. The JAMC has been the site of over 2,000 lifesaving pediatric surgical procedures in which well-trained Georgian surgeons have corrected a variety of congenital cardiac defects.

JAMC Blood Bank
Global Healing’s experience in blood banking started with the highly motivated cardiac team at the JAMC. Corporate contributions, volunteer specialists, and government support combined to make the JAMC one of the most modern blood banks in Georgia. New Standard Operating Procedures replaced the out-of-date Soviet practices. The JAMC is fully self-sufficient and provides blood products to the JAMC surgical center and throughout Georgia.

In the next 5 years, Global Healing will work with the Georgian National Center of Disease Control to establish the JAMC as a national training center for blood banking and transfusion services. A national policy with uniform guidelines and standards will be enacted to ensure that blood products are at an internationally acceptable level of quality. Additionally, the JAMC Blood Bank will continue as the leader in voluntary blood donation by expanding donor recruitment and mobile collection efforts in Tbilisi. Through our collaboration, the JAMC will continue to be the model blood banking center for the rest of the region.

JAMC Adult Cardiac Surgery & Diagnostic Center
Since the center’s inception, more than 400 successful adult cardiac surgeries have been performed and more than 1,500 adult patients have passed through the adult cardiology department. The JAMC was able to obtain a GE mobile catheterization laboratory in 2001 thanks to contributions from Global Healing. The unit is used to cure people with serious heart rhythm disorders and various congenital diseases as well as repair coronary artery blockages. More than 800 catheterizations have been performed at the JAMC.

Tbilisi State Medical University Pediatric Hospital
In 2001, Global Healing partnered with the Medical University of Tbilisi and Children’s Hospital #2 to create the current neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Global Healing  provided both in country training as well as international training in Israel and the US as well as the medical equipment needed to provide the high standard of medical care Global Healing has become known for.  Hundreds of children have since been treated in the NICU.

Biomedical Engineering Training
IDue to the advanced nature of the medical equipment we send abroad, Global Healing always takes the necessary measures to ensure that the equipment can be properly maintained and repaired. In Georgia, Global Healing simultaneously trained two local engineers in Russia, Europe and on-site. They have continued their training independently and created a for-profit firm that distributes and maintains biomedical equipment within the Caucasus Region.

National Blood Safety Reform
Over the next five years, Global Healing will work with the Georgian National Center for Disease Control to establish a national blood banking policy that will ensure that the country's blood products meet international quality standards. The JAMC will support the effort by serving as a national training center. Over the course of the program, the JAMC Blood Bank will work to ramp up its mobile collections and donor recruitment programs, train extensively in quality management, and establish an immunohematology reference laboratory to perform advanced antibody identification.