Preferred Health Magazine proudly recognizes
Dr. William Novick as a recipient of its prestigious Doctors of Distinction award, honoring his extraordinary humanitarian leadership, pioneering surgical excellence, and unwavering mission to bring life-saving cardiac care to children around the world.
Internationally acclaimed pediatric and congenital cardiac surgeon Dr. William Novick has spent more than three decades accomplishing what few physicians would ever attempt—traveling into medically underserved and conflict-ridden regions to perform complex heart surgeries on children who otherwise would have little chance of survival. Over the course of his remarkable career, Dr. Novick has operated on and helped save the lives of more than 11,000 children while simultaneously training local physicians, nurses, and healthcare teams to establish sustainable pediatric cardiac surgery programs in developing nations.
As Founder and Medical Director of the Global Cardiac Alliance, formerly known as the Novick Cardiac Alliance and International Children’s Heart Foundation, Dr. Novick has led international medical teams across more than 36 countries and over 60 institutions, creating long-term healthcare infrastructures where specialized congenital heart care was once nonexistent. Through surgical missions, physician education, and hospital development, his organization has transformed the future of pediatric cardiac medicine in low- and middle-income countries across the globe.
Dr. Novick’s humanitarian contributions have earned him numerous international honors and distinctions. He has received four Presidential Medals from foreign governments, including the Red Star of Croatia, the Franskaya Scorina Humanitarian Presidential Medal from Belarus, Nicaragua’s Order of Ruben Dario Medal, and Ukraine’s Presidential Order of Merit. He was also honored with the World Heart Foundation’s Humanitarian of the Year Award and the inaugural Frederique-Constant Passion Award in Geneva, recognizing his extraordinary global impact on children’s healthcare and humanitarian medicine.
Beyond the operating room, Dr. William Novick is a prolific academic contributor, humanitarian leader, and author whose work has focused on ethical global cardiac initiatives, healthcare disparities, and sustainable pediatric surgical development. His life's mission—to ensure that every child born with congenital heart disease has access to lifesaving care regardless of geography or circumstance—has transformed thousands of lives across the globe.
This extraordinary mission is powerfully captured in Tiny Hearts, a feature-length documentary directed and written by Chris Dela Cruz. Filmed over five years in multiple countries, including Lebanon, Iraq, Ukraine, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the documentary follows Dr. Novick and the medical teams of the Global Cardiac Alliance as they deliver lifesaving heart care to children in conflict zones and underserved regions around the world.
The film offers a compelling and unfiltered look at the realities of performing advanced pediatric cardiac surgery amid war, political instability, and severely limited medical resources. Yet Tiny Hearts goes beyond emergency interventions to showcase the Global Cardiac Alliance's long-term vision: building sustainable pediatric cardiac programs by training local physicians, nurses, and healthcare teams to provide ongoing care long after international volunteers have departed.
The documentary also reveals the personal sacrifices and health challenges Dr. Novick has faced throughout his decades of humanitarian work while highlighting the remarkable resilience of families who travel extraordinary distances and overcome unimaginable obstacles to secure treatment for their children. According to the filmmakers, more than one million babies worldwide are born each year with congenital heart disease, and many children living in low- and middle-income countries lack access to specialized cardiac care. Through its powerful storytelling, Tiny Hearts raises awareness of these profound healthcare disparities and inspires support for sustainable solutions.
Dr. Novick's humanitarian journey is further chronicled in his acclaimed memoir, Blue Babies, Bombs and Bad Places: A Surgeon's Journey Developing Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Programs in Conflict Zones, co-authored with Amanda Rose Adams. The book offers a deeply personal and candid account of saving children's lives in some of the world's most dangerous regions, detailing the realities of performing surgery amid war zones, political instability, and humanitarian crises while remaining steadfast in his commitment to children born with congenital heart disease.
Dr. Novick's life's work stands as a profound example of medicine without borders—where compassion, courage, and innovation intersect to create hope for families across the globe. Through his relentless dedication, thousands of children have been given not only lifesaving surgeries, but also the opportunity for a healthier future and a second chance at life.
A surgeon, educator, author, and global advocate, Dr. William Novick exemplifies medicine practiced at its highest calling: with courage, compassion, and unwavering purpose. Preferred Health Magazine is proud to celebrate his extraordinary impact and honor him as one of this year's most deserving Doctors of Distinction.
Preferred Health Magazine: Throughout your career, you have traveled into war zones and medically underserved regions to perform pediatric heart surgeries on children who otherwise would not survive. Can you share one experience that profoundly changed your perspective on medicine, humanity, or your own purpose, and how that moment continues to shape the work you do today?
Dr. William Novick: We were in Belgrade in March 1999, arriving on the day the Peace talks started in Paris. We were not worried because we thought that the talks would take several days. We had a radio in the operating room tuned to a Rock n’Roll station broadcasting in English. All week, the DJs made up stories about NATO sending planes over the Adriatic only to turn around. On Friday of the first week, the Director’s secretary called me to tell me I needed to call the US Embassy between cases. I did so and was told to be ready to evacuate to Budapest on Saturday morning as the Embassy was pulling out. The talks had broken down on Tuesday with no results. Well, I knew that two newborns with Transposition of the Great Arteries were waiting for surgery in the Neonatal ICU. I knew the locals had never performed the operation these two children needed, so I told the Embassy staffer we would vote on it tonight and that I would call him later with an update.
The team met for dinner, and I explained the situation. I said anyone wanting to evacuate tomorrow would be picked up by the US Embassy at 7:30 A.M. and taken to Budapest. I stated that I was staying for these two children. Three of our ICU nurses were mothers of young children, and all asked to leave. I called the Embassy and told them, and the next morning they were evacuated to Budapest. The team members who remained were the anesthesiologist, the perfusionist, two ICU nurses, our freelance photographer, and me.
Nothing happened on Monday or Tuesday, but on Wednesday, the local DJs started mimicking fake air-raid alerts over the radio. We finished the first newborn, ate lunch, and started the second child in the p.m. The sun set, and about 15 minutes later, another air-raid signal sounded, and I told the Serbian anesthesiologist to turn off the radio; he peeked over the drapes and said, “Dr. Novick, those are real.”
We had this 9-day-old child’s heart open during the repair; we couldn’t stop. We finished the case, got the bay to the ICU, and all the rest of the night I watched from the balcony as NATO bombed Belgrade.
Twenty years later, I received a call from a Russian journalist asking me if he could interview me about that night. I agreed and forgot about it. Three weeks later, I get an email from the mother of that child we operated on while the bombs were falling. She thanked me for not leaving her child to die, and he was celebrating his 21st birthday. Six weeks later, I flew to Belgrade with our documentary film crew and went to the village the family lived in, to see this man I had operated on 21 years before. It was an emotional day for all.
So, to this day, I do not shy away from operating in conflict zones because whether a child should receive life-saving heart surgery should not depend on the geography of where they are born!
PHM: In your book, Blue Babies, Bombs and Bad Places, you offer an unfiltered look at the emotional and ethical realities of practicing medicine in conflict zones. How do you personally navigate the emotional weight of treating critically ill children under such extreme conditions, and what has that taught you about resilience, compassion, and leadership?
Dr. Novick: First and foremost, I am concerned about team safety and the evacuation plan. Once I am satisfied with this, my primary role is to keep everyone focused on the kids, maintain a calm demeanor, and know when it is time to evacuate.
PHM: Your work goes far beyond performing surgeries—you’ve focused heavily on building sustainable pediatric cardiac programs by training local physicians and healthcare teams worldwide. What have been the greatest challenges in creating long-term healthcare infrastructure in developing nations, and what lessons can global healthcare systems learn from those experiences?
Dr. Novick: Corruption, self-serving politics, unbelievable ignorance of the problem, and a lack of concern from politicians. My next book is specifically about these problems.
PHM: Having helped save the lives of more than 11,000 children across dozens of countries, you have witnessed firsthand the inequalities that exist in global healthcare access. What changes do you believe are most urgently needed to improve congenital heart care worldwide, and how can governments, medical institutions, and humanitarian organizations work together more effectively to address this crisis?
Dr. Novick: One million children annually are born in low and middle-income countries with congenital heart disease. It will take a major investment in training local teams in these countries. Governments need to recognize the problem and apply resources to correct it. Humanitarian fly-in and fly-out missions will not be sufficient; a long-term commitment by expert groups to visit multiple times per year for multiple years is needed. One or two Centers of Excellence in a country with 200 million is not the answer.
PHM: Your career has combined surgical innovation, humanitarian service, education, and advocacy on an extraordinary scale. Looking back on your journey, what legacy do you hope to leave behind — not only for the thousands of children and families you’ve helped, but also for the next generation of physicians who may want to follow a similarly mission-driven path?
Dr. Novick: My hope is that the team I have surrounded myself with will continue this work for another 30 years, establishing another 30-35 centers in countries in need.
Dr. William M. Novick, MD, MS
Global Cardiac Alliance
Credentials
> Senior Pediatric & Congenital Cardiac Surgeon
> Paul Nemir Jr., M.D. Endowed Professor of International Child Health Professor of Surgery
> Associate Director Global Surgery Institute University of Tennessee Health Science Center
> Founder and Medical Director, Global Cardiac Alliance
> Doctor of Medicine (MD), University of Alabama School of Medicine
Awards & Honors
• Preferred Health Magazine Doctors of Distinction Award
• Presidential Medal of Merit – Croatia
• Presidential Medal of Merit – Belarus
• Presidential Medal of Merit – Nicaragua
• Presidential Order of Merit – Ukraine
• Congressional Record Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives
• Ukrainian Gold Medal of Peace Award
• Humanitarian of the Year Award, Rotary Gift of Life
• Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon of the Year (Tennessee),
Patient Preferred Network
Career Highlights
• More than 11,000 children treated and life-saving cardiac procedures performed worldwide
• Led pediatric cardiac missions in more than 36 countries
• Published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters
• Author of Blue Babies, Bombs and Bad Places: A Surgeon's Journey Developing Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Programs in Conflict Zones
• Author of Healing the Heart of Croatia