Congenital Heart Defects continue to be the #1 birth defectamong newborns affecting 1 in 100 babies andtheirfamilies.While the incidence remains high CHDresearch continues to be drastically underfunded; Receiving 1/3 the funding when compared to other childhood diseases. Team Trace hopes that by sharing Trace’s story we will continue to raise awareness and increase funding for research to battle this disease. CHD is a battle fought by some ofthe bravest warriors we have ever had the privilege to know and we will continue to fight for them and in their honor.

CHDs are not always detected prior to birth. Children can experience issues with both the structural and electrical portions of their hearts. Many times when issues impact the electrical activity in a child’s heart the defect can remain undetected until a major life threatening event occurs. Team Trace has developed a community outreach program focused on making localschools and sports fields heart safe by installing AEDs. Our current partnership with Talbot County Department of Emergency Services has successfully placed AEDs at local sports fields identified by our local EMS teams and is currently working to install more AEDs in our schools. Our long term initiative includes making all Eastern Shore schools and as many sports complexes as possible equipped with these life saving devices.

The opportunity to be in direct support of CHD research projects sparked our beginnings and remains a core part of our mission. To date we have donated over 350,000 dollars towards research associated with Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC. We continue to provide funding for the Pericardial Access Tool project with Children’s National. Financial support of research helps to close the gap on this drastically underfunded area. Research provides advancements for the treatment of Congenital Heart Disease and improved outcomes for these children. It also provides hope for a brighter and longer future for these little hero's and their families.