Who We Are

In 1979 due to the death of a child, and their desire to turn grief into action, a couple began arranging heart surgery at Childrenís Hospital in Seattle. From this first healing act, grew a volunteer organization that to date has served over 59,000 children from 75 countries. Healing the Children National currently has 14 chapters, serving in 23 states.

The Southwest Chapter of Healing the Children was established in 1989 by Debbie and Jim O'Rourke who lost their adopted son under similar circumstances. We operate in New Mexico with a local children's program (see Hardship Relief Project),    internationally by bringing in children from around the world for surgery to our partner hospital in Albuquerque, and through medical missions to Latin America (see Foreign Medical Teams).