Saint Thomas Hospital Celebrates 25 Years of Heart Transplants

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Saint Thomas Hospital is celebrating the 25th anniversary of performing its first heart transplant.

In 1985, Saint Thomas became the first in Tennessee, and the 26th hospital in the United States, to offer a heart transplant program.

"Saint Thomas Hospital is a pioneer in heart transplantation," said E. Dale Batchelor, M.D., President and CEO, Saint Thomas Hospital. "Transplantation continues to be a 'last resort' for so many patients facing heart failure and heart disease. Getting a new heart is a true blessing and Saint Thomas Hospital is proud to have performed 349 heart transplants to date."

In March of 1984, a group of physicians founded the Tennessee Heart Institute at Saint Thomas Hospital, with a major goal to develop a heart transplant program. In March of 1985, a donor was located through the Nashville Regional Organ Procurement Agency.

On March 14, 1985, Drs. David Glassford and John Lea performed the first heart transplant at Saint Thomas Hospital. Both physicians remain on staff at Saint Thomas Hospital today.

Later that year on Sept. 7, both surgeons performed a heart transplant on Jan Vaughn, Tennessee's first female heart transplant recipient and Saint Thomas Hospital's sixth heart transplant patient.

Twenty-five years later, on Sept. 7, Saint Thomas Hospital will celebrate its 25th cardiac transplant anniversary with Jan Vaughn.

Vaughn, who now resides in Florida, will be the guest of honor at a celebration of the Saint Thomas Hospital Heart Transplant program, where she will reunite with Drs. Glassford and Lea.

"Saint Thomas Hospital has been the cardiac leader for the past four decades, performing Tennessee's first coronary bypass surgery, first coronary angioplasty, first heart transplant, first intracoronary stent, first coronary rotational ablation and the first Toronto stentless porcine valve. Today, we celebrate the experience and expertise we offer our patients every day with our cardiac care," said William Coltharp, M.D., cardiothoracic surgeon and President of the Saint Thomas Hospital Medical Staff.

Saint Thomas Hospital is a 100 Top Hospital designated by Thomson Reuters and provides patients diagnostic and interventional cardiac catheterization, cardiac and thoracic surgery, heart transplantation, non-invasive diagnostic cardiology, electrophysiology, emergent cardiac care and cardiac rehabilitation.

The Saint Thomas Hospital Chest Pain Center is accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC).

The Saint Thomas Advanced Heart Failure Unit is the first in Tennessee to achieve accreditation from the Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium.

Saint Thomas Hospital's Cardiac Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Destination Therapy has earned the Gold Seal of Approval™ for health care quality from The Joint Commission. Saint Thomas Hospital is the first Middle Tennessee hospital to earn this cardiac disease specific accreditation from the Joint Commission.

Saint Thomas Hospital is a member of Saint Thomas Health Services, a faith-based ministry with more than 8,000 associates serving Middle Tennessee. Saint Thomas Health Services' regional health system consists of five hospitals – Baptist and Saint Thomas Hospitals and the Center for Spinal Surgery in Nashville, Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville – and a comprehensive network of affiliated joint ventures in diagnostics, cardiac services and ambulatory surgery as well as medical practices, clinics and rehabilitation facilities. STHS is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States.

Contact:

Paul Lindsley

615/222-6859

[email protected]

SOURCE Saint Thomas Hospital