Heart Friends
Heart Friends is a support group for families of children with congenital heart defects.
The mission of the group is to provide emotional and educational support to parents and families who have children with congenital heart defects. It also promotes understanding and knowledge of these defects to the general public.
The goals of the group are: emotional support, meetings, social gatherings, phone calls, parent matching, newsletters, educational support and public awareness. Meetings are held at the Children's Hospital of Iowa, once in both November and April. Meetings consist of a speaker, planning for upcoming events, and social time for families to connect. Additional meetings may planned for event planning.
We currently hold two large social events per year: a catered picnic in the fall and a party at the Children's Hospital of Iowa the weekend of Valentine's Day to celebrate Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day.
Interested individuals should e-mail Trudy Pierick at trudy-pierick@uiowa.edu or Katherine Bjornsen at katherine-bjornsen@uiowa.edu. They would be happy to discuss this more, with anyone interested or with questions.
The group is funded through a grant from the Children's Miracle Network and an annual bake sale during Valentine's week.
Donations can be directed to this group by sending a check to: The Children's Hospital of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, 2801 JPP, Pediatric Cardiology, Iowa City, IA 52242. Checks should be addressed to: Pediatric Cardiology Fund, as our account is under this umbrella account.
Heart Friends products (t-shirts, sweatshirts, onesies, bibs, tote bags) are available by contacting Trudy at her e-mail address. Heart Friends coffee mugs are also available anytime at the Pediatric Cardiology Clinic in Iowa City for $12.
Additional websites recommended by Heart Friends are available by contacting Trudy Pierick.
Some of the web sites I have found educational and supportive for my family are:
http://www.uiowa.edu/homepage/health/index.html
http://mayoclinic.org/rochester/