Copyrighted by St. Francis Medical Center
All Rights Reserved, 2004 |
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St. Francis Medical Center opened the first Coronary Care Unit in Northeast Louisiana in 1967. That step was the beginning of a push that continues today to provide comprehensive cardiology services.
The hospital now performs more than 2,500 invasive and interventional heart procedures each year.
St. Francis has exerted regional leadership as evidenced by several other "firsts." Among these was development of the first CPR training program in the state of Louisiana; opening the first cardiac catheterization lab in Northeast Louisiana in 1978; and providing the first cardiovascular surgical services in Northeast Louisiana in 1980.
The Medical Center also led the community by providing the first interventional cardiology program in Northeast Louisiana. The first angioplasty in the area was performed at St. Francis in 1987. Today, St. Francis provides additional interventional cardiology services, including intracoronary stent placement, electrophysiology (EP) studies, ablation and valvuloplasty. The St. Francis Cardiac Invasive Unit (CIU) is a dedicated unit providing care for patients undergoing invasive and interventional procedures. Diagnostic services are available as well.
St. Francis also has three units dedicated to caring for open heart patients: the cardiovascular operating rooms, the cardiovascular recovery unit and the cardiovascular telemetry unit.
Even more importantly, the hospital has a highly trained team of professionals dedicated to providing 24-hour, seven-day-a-week coverage for patients who need coronary artery bypass and heart valve replacement surgery. The team includes a surgeon, two anesthesiologists, 35 registered nurses, six scrub techs and two perfusionists. When a patient requiring bypass or valve replacement surgery enters St. Francis, that patient, from the point of consultation to discharge, is cared for by doctors and staff members who concentrate solely on hearts.
The current heart team, in just the last 10 years, has performed more than 3,000 surgeries.
St. Francis also strives to meet the educational needs of our community. In 1989, cardiac rehabilitation services were established. Today, inpatient and outpatient cardiac rehab services continue to grow in utilization and effectiveness. |
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