Dear Colleague,
For over 50 years, Atrium Health
Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute
has strived to deliver exceptional
cardiovascular care to all. Our
approach is predicated upon placing
the needs and expectations of our
patients first. We then provide the care
that is needed through the coordinated
actions of our expert teams.
So we can continuously improve upon
this approach, we closely monitor our
patient outcomes on a real-time basis.
At the close of each year, we gather
and publish the data. Not only does
this provide us with insight as to where
we have opportunities to get better,
it also provides a transparent and
comprehensive portrait of our care.
I am pleased to share this year’s data
with you. As you review our outcomes,
I would like to draw your attention to a
few specific achievements:
- In 2023, we performed the 500th VAD implant
and our 750th heart transplant since our Advanced
Heart Failure Program launched in 1995. Our clinical
outcomes in caring for these extremely complex patients
are amongst the top tier nationally.
- Also in this past year, we launched our Center for
Women’s Cardiovascular Health, led by Esther Kim,
MD, Izard Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular
Medicine. Dr. Kim was recruited to Sanger from
Vanderbilt University, where she gained international
recognition for her work in women’s cardiovascular
health, including the specific vascular medicine issues
of Fibromuscular Dysplasia (FMD) and Spontaneous
Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD).
The Center provides specialized and integrated care
to comprehensively address the unique cardiovascular
needs of women across their lifespan. Within the
Center, we have launched the region’s first joint
Cardio-Obstetrics Clinic, where patients receive
multidisciplinary care delivered by maternal fetal
medicine and cardiology teams — on the same day
in the same clinic space.
- Sanger’s Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
program — the only independently accredited Center
of Excellence for this condition in our region — offers
access to multidisciplinary comprehensive HCM care.
Led by Dermot Phelan, MD, PhD, Gragg Endowed Chair
in Cardiovascular Medicine, who was recruited to Sanger
from the Cleveland Clinic, the HCM program houses
the region’s largest portfolio of HCM research studies
and clinical trials, including access to novel precision
therapeutics for both obstructive and non-obstructive
forms of HCM.
- Sanger’s Cardiac Surgery Program, led by John Frederick,
MD, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, and Thomas Maxey, MD, Chair
of Cardiothoracic Surgery, achieved cumulative performance
unparalleled in the Southeastern US:
3 STAR rating (highest designation) from the Society for
Thoracic Surgery (STS) for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
(CABG) Surgery at all Sanger heart surgery locations.
3 STAR ratings from the STS for both Aortic Valve
Surgery and Mitral Valve Repair. John Frederick, MD
and Larry Watts, MD lead these top-tier valve programs.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Atrium Health
Levine Children’s Hospital as #8 in the U.S. for
pediatric cardiology and heart surgery, showcasing our
expertise in care throughout childhood.
The above are but a few of the many stellar achievements the
Sanger team realized this past year when caring for the cardiac,
thoracic, and vascular needs of our patients. I hope you will take
some time to read through this Outcomes & Innovation Report
to learn more. Our goal is for you to be better informed if ever in
need to make such care decisions for your patients, your family,
or yourself.
Thank you once again for your interest in our work.
Sincerely,
Geoffrey A. Rose, MD, FACC, FASE
President
Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular
Institute,
Jerome J. & Rosalind Richardson Endowed Chair in
Cardiovascular Medicine, Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular
Institute