Program for Heart Failure Patients at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas First to be Certified in the United States

Contact: Maria Carpenter, (214) 820-4827
Email: mariaca@baylorhealth.edu

(DALLAS, TEXAS – Nov. 15, 2007) – Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is the first hospital in the United States to receive the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission for the hospital’s Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) program. A VAD is a pump that helps a failing heart deliver blood to the rest of the body. The Joint Commission awarded Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas Disease-Specific Care Certification for VAD. The certification means that Baylor Dallas’ VAD program follows national standards and guidelines that can significantly improve outcomes for patients.

“The certification is reflective of the dedication of our physicians on our medical staff, nurses and staff to provide quality care for our heart patients,” said Clyde Yancy, M.D., FACC, FAHA, FACP, medical director of Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute. “We are pleased to have helped so many patients prolong their lives and improve the quality of their lives through our VAD program.”

To earn the distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers every two years. The program is evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of a program’s processes, the program’s ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization, and interviews with patients and staff.

Baylor Dallas’ VAD program began in 1997 and has served 51 patients. Patients are cared for by a multidisciplinary team, which includes a VAD certified cardiothoracic surgeon, cardiologist, transplant coordinators, social worker, dietitian, ICU and telemetry nurses, pharmacist, and other health care professionals based on the patient’s needs.

“The multidisciplinary approach allows the patient’s complex care needs to be addressed prior to implant, during hospitalization and discharge,” said Mae Centeno, MS, RN, CCRN, CCNS, APRN, BC, nurse supervisor of the VAD program. “Without the VAD program, many of our patients would have died waiting for transplantation. These VADs give patient with advanced heart failure a chance for a longer life when they are not candidates for transplantation.” says Shelley Hall, M.D., FACC, medical director of the Heart Transplant Program at Baylor Dallas.

Baylor Dallas’ commitment to VAD patients reaches beyond the hospital walls as the transplant coordinator and the patient’s cardiologist or surgeon go to the patient’s community and educate the referring physician, emergency medical services, local emergency room and home health about the patient’s VAD. They explain what to do in an emergency and who to contact.

A VAD is used for two types of patients: those on the heart transplant waiting list whose condition has deteriorated, and end stage heart failure patients who have failed other medical therapies and do not qualify for a transplant. The VAD is a pump usually placed by a surgeon in the upper abdomen. The pump is connected to the heart using a special tube. Blood travels from the heart, down the inflow tube, and into the VAD. The VAD then pumps the blood into an outflow tube and delivers blood to a major blood vessel.

About Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas
Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, a 978-bed not-for-profit hospital, is a major patient care and research center in the southwest. The nationally acclaimed medical center serves as flagship hospital for Baylor Health Care System and has earned Magnet status for "Excellence in Nursing Services" from the American Nurses Credentialing Center - the organization's highest level of recognition.

In addition to its level one adult trauma center, Baylor Dallas is also home to many nationally ranked centers of excellence including transplant, cardiovascular services, orthopaedics, oncology, digestive diseases, neurosciences and gynecology. In 2007, U.S. News & World Report recognized Baylor Dallas for the 15th consecutive year in its "America's Best Hospitals" guide.

Physicians are members of the medical staff at one of Baylor Health Care System’s subsidiary, community or affiliated medical centers and are neither employees nor agents of those medical centers, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas or Baylor Health Care System.