St. Joseph's Hospital opens new $20 million Heart Institute

St. Joseph's Hospital entered the next era of cardiac care by opening a new $20 million Heart Institute on Feb. 10, 2014. St. Joseph's Hospital Heart Institute is one of the most advanced and comprehensive centers for cardiovascular medicine in Florida, performing more than 50,000 adult cardiac catheterizations. It is also has the only pediatric catheterization program in Hillsborough County. Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the country and the new facility increases the community's access to the highest level of cardiac care.

"After 80 years of serving Tampa Bay, it is very exciting to open the new St. Joseph's Hospital Heart Institute during Heart Month," said St. Joseph's Hospital Heart Institute Director Pam D'Amore. "Our physicians are at the forefront of cardiac care. We are pioneers when it comes to advances in diagnosis and treatment, which allows us to offer some of the most sophisticated technology anywhere."

Located just above the Pediatric and Adult Emergency Departments to expedite transport time, this 35,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility features a 17 private bed pre-operation and recovery area, expanded family waiting room and nine surgical procedure rooms including:

• 3 Cardiovascular Operating Suites
• 3 Cardiac Catheterization Labs
• 2 Electrophysiology Labs
• 1 Hybrid Integrated Digital Surgical Suite  

The Hybrid Integrated Digital Surgical Suite saves time and money by allowing multiple operations to take place at once. It also contains medical imaging devices so doctors can perform minimally invasive operations, which are less traumatic for patients.

"I think all of us here today believe that one of the key ingredients to providing outstanding medical care is a very close alignment of hospital, physician, and patient goals and expectations," said cardiothoracic surgeon Andrew Sherman, MD. "The more the physicians and hospital work together as a cohesive caregiver, the better it becomes for our patients who demand and deserve the highest quality of care. This building is a testament to what can be achieved with such a coordinated effort." 

St. Joseph's Hospital Heart Institute is one of the first in the world to perform robotic surgery for arrhythmia and the first in the country to successfully treat atrial fibrillation with cryoablation. The cardiac surgeons on staff can perform comprehensive cardiovascular procedures including adult and pediatric hybrid procedures, advanced treatment for atrial fibrillation, therapeutic hypothermia, endovascular procedures as well as minimally invasive procedures and device implants.