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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

New Cardiac Lab for Valley Pres

With the opening of its new cardiac catheterization laboratory, Valley Presbyterian Hospital is now billing itself as the home of the most technologically advanced cardiac equipment in the Valley. The new $4 million Fritz B. Burns Valley Cardiac Cath Lab opened May 13 on the first floor of the hospital near the operating rooms and emergency department. The lab features a new monitoring system and digital imaging technology that will allow physicians to more clearly see the heart and blood vessels and review patient information from one workspace. The new technology will also allow the hospital’s cardiologists to explore treatments that will improve circulation to a variety of organs. “This lab allows us to visualize the anatomy of the heart and the rest of the body in a much more refined way,” said Dr. Munaf Shamji, director of the cath lab. “It’s going to allow us to do procedures better, and, in addition to do this, we’ll also have intra-vascular ultrasound, which also then allows us to go into the artery itself and look, make a more informed decision about what arteries would best benefit from interventions, such as angioplasty or stints, or from simple medical therapy.” Because Valley Presbyterian is designated as a STEMI, or heart attack, receiving center, the new cath lab makes all the more difference because the technology in the old cath lab wasn’t as cutting edge. “Basically, it allows us to treat more patients quicker,” said Valley Presbyterian CEO Albert L. Greene. “These are patients you want to get into a cath lab for angioplasty very quickly.” Because Valley Presbyterian’s patient volume is steadily rising,it has experienced an 8 percent increase in patient volume compared to last year,treating patients as quickly as possible is a priority, according to Greene. But the fact that the new technology will also enable the hospital to more effectively treat patients is equally as significant, he said. “This [technology] will also allow them to put in state-of-the-art electrophysiological equipment,” Greene noted. “We have far more patients who have electrical problems with the heart than plumbing problems , so it will have the capacity to do electrical cardiac mapping that we didn’t offer.” The new cath lab has been three to four years in the making. Its creation was made possible almost entirely from community donations, most notably a lead gift of $1 million from the Fritz B. Burns Foundation. “This is just one of a number of gifts that Fritz B. Burns has made,” Greene said. The foundation recently made another gift to allow Valley Presbyterian to renovate its operating rooms, a project that is now underway. “Fritz B. Burns has been one of our most generous benefactors,” continued Greene. But Dr. Shamji also credits the leadership of the hospital with making the new cath lab possible. “In the era of health crises all over the country, the bitter reality is that health care costs continue to rise and reimbursement continues to dwindle,” Dr. Shamji said. “It’s kind of humbling to make such a large investment in the hospital simply to ensure that the community it serves is being justly treated, even though Valley Pres is in a community … with a large number being underinsured. For the hospital, it’s a testament to great leadership.”

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