It was a vision that would eventually
grow into what is now one of the most respected
and comprehensive cardiovascular surgery programs
in the mid-Mississippi Valley.
The year was 1982. Southeast
Missouri Hospital, under the leadership of Administrator
O.D. Niswonger, had recently observed its 50th
anniversary of service to the region and the “Hospital
on the Hill” was preparing to embark on
a journey of growth that would bring several new
services to the region, not the least of which
was “open heart” surgery. |
| Responding to the Region’s
Need
By 1980 the southeast region of Missouri was
the only part of the state which
did not offer a heartsurgery program. At that
time, this area was also home to the largest percentage
of elderly Missourians and had the dubious distinction
of having the highest death rate in the state
due to cardiovascular-related diseases.
This combination of facts led to a study by the
Area Five Health Systems Agency which revealed
that a large number of cardiovascular cases were
being referred out of Southeast Missouri at a
rate that could easily justify establishment of
a local heart surgery program.
Referral out of the area was not only an inconvenience
for patients and families, but a matter of life
and death as well. Dr. Talbert commented at the
time that a certain number of deaths could be
directly attributed to the lack of heart surgery
here. “We just can’t stabilize some
patients and get them to the city in time,”
he explained more than 20 years ago.
Armed with this information, Southeast began
building the foundation of its comprehensive cardiovascular
surgery program. The Hospital’s new Robert
D. Harrison Annex would provide ample room for
spacious and modern surgical suites, new intensive
care and cardiac care units, and other components
for a complete Cardiovascular Services Department.
A group of local cardiologists -- including C.R.
Talbert, Jr., M.D., W. Kirk Bowman, Jr., M.D.,
Charles DeFelice, M.D., and Allen Spitler, M.D.
-- were part of the initial discussions as the
Hospital prepared to bring heart surgery to the
region. Several anesthesiologists were also key
participants in the early planning including Riley
R. Adams, M.D., R. Blaine Russell, D.O., and Huey
D. Tewis, D.O.
From the physicians’ perspective, many
of the necessary elements for a comprehensive
cardiovascular services program were falling into
place including a cardiac catheterization lab,
intensive care, anesthesia and nursing care. In
addition, the Southeast Auxiliary was involved
by raising funds to expand the heart program.
In October of 1983, Dr. Talbert and Dr. DeFelice
were joined by Medical Staff President J. Stephen
Whitten, M.D., Board of Trustees President Stanley
Grimm, and members of the Hospital administration
in support of Southeast’s heart surgery
Certificate of Need application before the Missouri
Medical Facilities Review Committee.
According to Mr. Niswonger, “We were prepared
to answer any questions they might have had; but
apparently our certificate of need application
more than substantiated the region’s need
for the service because the Committee’s
vote was swift and unanimous.”
Building Southeast’s Heart Team
With the support of the Board of Trustees, the
Medical Staff, and the community and the approval
of the Hospital’s certificate of need, the
next step was to identify a team of heart surgeons
to lead the cardiovascular surgery program. Southeast’s
Cardiac Surgery Planning Committee embarked on
an exhaustive nationwide search and recruited highly talented and skilled heart surgeons to the staff. |
And on October 1, 1984, a 33-year-old
mother of two from Portageville underwent the
first coronary artery bypass surgery at Southeast
Missouri Hospital.
In the years since, Cathy Haven has been joined
by nearly 6,500 other heart surgery patients
from throughout Southeast Missouri and Southern
Illinois (as well as parts of eight other states)
whose lives have been enhanced -- and in many
cases saved -- by the surgical team of the Regional
Heart Center. |
Cathy Haven |
Looking Back
Two decades after helping lay the groundwork
for the Regional Heart Center, former Southeast
Administrator O.D. Niswonger smiles with pride
when asked about the cardiovascular surgery program.
“In all my years with Southeast, there wasn’t
any other project that was more gratifying to
me than our heart surgery program,” he remarked.
The program’s success, he said, required
the perfect combination of staff dedication, physician
involvement, medical technology, financial resources
and a commitment on the part of the Hospital’s
lay leadership and administration. “It took
teamwork, a ‘can do’ attitude by everyone
involved and a leap of faith to make it happen,”
he reflected. “And it all came together...without
missing a beat!” |
