Senator Flanagan Secures Grant To Help St. Catherine of Siena Expand Cardiac Services

Senator John Flanagan (2^nd Senate District) recently joined with St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center to unveil improvements at the newly renovated Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory.  Senator Flanagan secured a $100,000 grant for the program which helped enhance the medical center’s ability to enhance its services with advance technology in intravascular imaging.

This renovation centered on the introduction the INNOVA-2100-1Q Cardiac Gem Sam which allows specialized cath lab staff to view the finest vessels from the heart to the legs and place interventional devices.  It’s all enabled by the Revolution™ detector, the one-piece flat panel that helps deliver excellent image quality and dose efficiency.

With the new equipment, specialized staff can now increase the accuracy of diagnosis in patients with Coronary Artery Disease and further ensure the success of its efficacy of the elective Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Program. PCI, also known as elective coronary angioplasty and stenting is a procedure to open clogged arteries in response to a heart attack.  The procedure quickly restores blood flow through blocked arteries without the need for invasive open-heart surgery.

“The purchase and installation of this new radiology equipment will allow the medical center to provide the highest level of care possible to patients,” stated Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief Nursing Officer Gara Edelstein, RN.

The new equipment further allows prompt intervention in the hospital, preserves cardiac functions, significantly lowers hospital length of stay statistics, medical costs and returns patients to productive lives sooner.  Highly experienced cardiologists, under the leadership of Director of Invasive Cardiology Rakesh Patel, MD, are available to perform elective angioplasty.

These are the same trusted physicians who have performed hundreds of life-saving angioplasty procedures on an emergency basis for over five years.  Residents can now look to St. Catherine’s to receive non-emergent angioplasty, with the knowledge that the medical center provides the most state-of-the-art technologies available.

“The Cardiac Catheterization Lab staff at St. Catherine’s looks forward to serving the cardiac needs of the community in our newly renovated facility, with state-of-the-art equipment and techniques, with highly competent and compassionate care,” stated Dr. Patel.

“This new equipment in the hands of these qualified and dedicated professionals will save lives and provide families in our region with a sense of comfort at a time of great stress.  I am honored to have been able to work with St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center to secure this advanced technology and applaud them for their continuing efforts to bring the highest level of care possible to our community,” stated Senator Flanagan.