By Liz Yates—
MUNCIE, IN — Since its creation in 1977, the open-heart surgery program at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital has reached a huge milestone: 7,000 open-heart cases. These cases include everything from Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (CABG) to valve repairs and replacements, and all the specialty cases in between. This is a low volume, community-based program as our physicians and advanced practice providers see both scheduled and emergent cases.
A lot has changed in the 45 years since this program’s inception, including the technology used to both diagnose patients and aide in keeping them safe during their open-heart surgeries, but one thing has remained constant – the care and expertise our team members give each case that comes across their operating table.
It truly takes a village to complete an open-heart case, with as many as 9 different team members working together to get the job done. From the Cardiac Surgeon, Anesthesiologist, Perfusionist, Physician Assistant and Perfusion Assistant, to the Certified Surgical Technologists and Circulating Nurses – everyone has a role to play in making any open-heart case a successful one.
Brian Belangee, Chief Perfusionist at IU Health Ball, is excited to see this milestone reached as it’s been so long in the making stating, “a number this big deserves to be celebrated as it marks the great work of so many talented team members. It also serves to show just how many community members we have been able to help since the program’s origination and it’s something that we as a hospital and a community should be proud of.”
“These cases are life altering,” added Glenn Carlos, MD, Cardiovascular Surgeon at IU Health Ball, “and our team is so rightfully honored to have changed so many lives through this program.”
If you want to look at the other numbers involved in this momentous milestone, it boils down to this: 7,000 cases, 5 hours average per case, 9 team members per case means that an average of 315,000 individual hours have been spent in the last 45 years changing people’s lives right here in our community.
About Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital
IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital serves as a tertiary referral center and teaching hospital for East Central Indiana and part of Indiana University Health. IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and maintains 1.2 million square feet of facilities. It is part of an elite group of hospitals with Magnet designation for nursing excellence. More than 17,700 patients are admitted every year and more than 300,000 outpatient procedures are completed annually. Jeff Bird, MD, is President. Learn more at iuhealth.org/ball-memorial.
