Dignity Health | hello Healthy | Winter 2018-2019

HelloHealthy | Winter 2018–2019 11 Safety and convenience For Memorial Hospital patients, the introduction of the hybrid lab means added safety. It also means that some high-risk patients who might have been sent to other, distant hospitals can be treated here. “This allows us to take care of our community within our community,” says Rellon Powers, manager of the cath lab. “Now the patient and their family won’t be forced to travel for care.” Dignity Health – Memorial Hospital, Brian learned he was indeed having a heart attack. “But as alarming as the news was—and I’m a worrier—the staff was so compassionate and capable that I felt remarkably comfortable,” he says. “I knew I was in wonderful hands.” That expertise was crucial when further testing revealed that multiple arteries feeding his heart were blocked—and one was almost totally blocked. A new lease on life Initially, it appeared that Brian needed open-heart surgery. But instead, Tommy Lee, MD, a cardiologist at The Sarvanand Heart and Brain Center at Memorial Hospital, was able to restore blood flow to Brian’s heart with a far less invasive—but still technically challenging—procedure. He performed angioplasty to open up Brian’s arteries, and he inserted three stents to help keep the arteries from narrowing again. Brian is forever grateful to Dr. Lee and everyone at Memorial Hospital who took care of him. “I call the whole medical staff my guardian angels,” he says. Back at home, Brian exercises daily, eats a healthy diet, and watches his weight. He has lost 29 pounds so far. “I feel better than I have in years,” Brian says. “I was given a second chance for a healthy future. I’m not wasting it.” What is a hybrid catheterization lab? “It’s a room that combines the features of a traditional catheterization lab with the features of a surgical suite,” explains Michele Shain, Senior Director of Memorial Hospital’s cardiovascular and neurology services. “It is reserved for complex catheterization procedures, such as abdominal aortic aneurysm repair or a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).” Catheter-based procedures are minimally invasive. Doctors use a small incision to insert a tube that can break a clot, place a stent, or even repair a heart valve. Many cath lab procedures are low-risk, with few complications. But some are more high-risk, and patients sometimes develop complications that quickly require open surgery. Before the hybrid cath lab was in place at Memorial Hospital, those patients with complications would be moved immediately to a surgical suite in a different part of the hospital. That move increased the time until surgery could begin and increased the risk of even more complications for the patient. But that doesn’t happen anymore. Like a Swiss army knife that can go from clippers to scissors in seconds, the hybrid lab can quickly morph from a cath lab into a surgical suite when necessary. All that’s needed is for the cath lab staff to step back and the surgical team to step up to the table. Healthy hearts love longer. Take our free online heart health assessment at dignityhealth.org/ bakersfield/hra .