Winter storm delays Piedmont cardiologists' lifesaving mission to

The Brief

A team of Piedmont cardiologists, part of Heart Attack Ethiopia, has been delayed in Atlanta due to a winter storm, affecting their mission to perform lifesaving surgeries in Ethiopia.
The team, including Dr. Tesfaye Telila, was ready to depart when their flight was grounded, with over 1,200 flights canceled at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The mission involves sending over half a million dollars’ worth of medical supplies and 14 healthcare professionals to Ethiopia, with volunteers sacrificing their vacation time for the cause.

ATLANTA – A team of Piedmont cardiologists on a lifesaving mission to Ethiopia has been delayed in Atlanta due to this winter storm. About a dozen medical volunteers, including Dr. Tesfaye Telila, who are part of Heart Attack Ethiopia, were ready to take off around 12:45 p.m. Friday when their plane was among those impacted by a ground stop. A spokesperson told FOX 5 they have since taxied back to the gate and are headed home to try again Saturday. The team is eager to get out of Atlanta and back on track to perform lifesaving surgeries as early as Sunday.

A ground stop delay was put into place on Friday at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and more than 1,200 flights to and from Atlanta.

“After months of dedicated preparation, hundreds of emails, forms, phone calls, and meetings, our team at Heart Attack Ethiopia Inc is ready to send over half a million dollars’ worth of essential medical supplies and 14 highly skilled healthcare professionals to Ethiopia,” Dr. Telila wrote on his Facebook page late last year. “These incredible volunteers have given up their vacation time to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need.”

The team was already expecting delays, particularly with customs. “While we understand the necessity of proper vetting at customs, we hope to avoid the delays experienced in past missions,” the doctor wrote. “Our time on the ground is limited, and even a single day’s delay is too much for patients who have been waiting for so long.”

The team has been told there are no hotels available near the airport and many of the volunteers are from out of town with no place to go. They are not sure if they will be sleeping at the airport or on a plane.

FOX 5’s Doug Evans first introduced Dr. Telila, who practices at Piedmont hospitals in Newnan and Fayetteville, and his team of volunteers. He, along with his wife, Dr. Obsinet Merid, were leading a previous mission to their home country to try to help the more than 6,000 people there who need heart care and are at risk for stroke or heart attack.

The Source

This article uses information from a spokesperson and a Facebook post from Dr. Tesfaye Telila. A previous FOX 5 Atlanta original report was also used with the link in the article.

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