Add complex heart operations to the growing list of complicated procedures being offered at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. The Hospital’s President and CEO, Patty White, proudly stated, “Once again, St. Joseph’s is proving to be a destination hospital for some of the most difficult cases in the country.” How is this hospital achieving such lofty goals? They are partnering up with Cedar-Sinai Heart Institute of Los Angeles, California.
This partnership will see the staff of the renowned Cedar-Sinai Heart Institute serving as mentors to the St. Joseph’s transplant team. With a team already proficient in liver, kidney, and lung transplants, St. Joseph’s Hospital is looking to become prominent in heart care as well. The end result of this teacher-student relationship is for St. Joseph’s to become one of the few hospitals in the United States to offer ventricular assist devices (VADs).
What is so pivotal about VADs is their ability to prolong the lives of heart patients who are anxiously awaiting a call from the heart donor list. Often referred to as a “bridge transplant,” VADs mechanically assist weakened hearts in pumping. Whether a patient is waiting for a transplant, or are at the end of their life, VADs can vastly improve quality of life.
Director of cardiovascular surgery at St. Joseph’s, Dr. Kevin Brady, weighed on this beneficial relationship between Cedars-Sinai and St. Joseph’s. He stated, “The new arrangement will take our cardiac program to an optimal level. Our team will be offering the most sophisticated options available in cardiac care.”
With the ultimate goal being the improvement of patients’ health and quality of life, St. Joseph’s is rapidly growing to become a hospital that specializes in a wide variety of patient care. ALready touting itself as the busiest lung transportation center, St. Joseph only recently began offering transplants for both kidneys and livers. With the addition of VADs into their arsenal, the hospital hopes to continue its growth in providing exceptional care for its patients.
