Team Assembled For Danbury Hospital’s New

Regional Heart And Vascular Center

Staffing the Regional Heart and Vascular Center with the very best surgeons, physician assistants, perfusionists, nurses, and other critical care professionals has been a main thrust of Danbury Hospital’s planning efforts for its new center.

The search for top-notch, experienced candidates began soon after the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access (OHCA) gave the hospital the green light to establish an angioplasty and open-heart surgery program in July 2004.

“Our Certificate of Need [CON] approval from OHCA required that we staff the center with professionals who have cardiothoracic experience,” said Frank J. Kelly, president and CEO, Danbury Health Systems. “Thanks to the hard work and collaboration of our Human Resources Department and Cardiovascular Service Line, I’m happy to report that we’ve fulfilled that requirement. The people we’ve hired tell us they’re excited to be part of a team that’s establishing a new, high-quality program for the Danbury Hospital community.

“We were able to attract excellent candidates for a number of reasons — including competitive pay and an environment that supports teamwork and professional growth,” Mr Kelly said.

To set the tone and establish a reputable program, the hospital first selected leadership, including the appointment of Andrew M. Keller, MD, as chief of cardiology and medical executive for the Cardiovascular Service Line. Dr Keller previously served as the hospital’s medical director of echocardiography and as interim chief of cardiology. He was instrumental in obtaining the hospital’s CON approval for angioplasty and open-heart surgery.

Dr Keller is joined by Michael M. Frymus, MD, who recently came to Danbury Hospital from Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. As chief of cardiothoracic surgery for Danbury Hospital, Dr Frymus brings more than 20 years of experience and interest in adult cardiac surgery. In 2003, he had one of the lowest risk-adjusted mortality rates for cardiothoracic surgeons in New York State.

Dr Frymus will be performing surgeries with a familiar team. Of the three perfusionists hired by Danbury Hospital for the Regional Heart and Vascular Center, two are from Montefiore, while two of the four new physician assistants (PA), including the chief PA, have previous experience working with Dr Frymus.

The center’s nursing and support staff is a mix of professionals with experience in all facets of cardiothoracic surgery and care, as well as Danbury Hospital employees with surgical and critical care backgrounds. A November 2004 Nursing Open House, direct mail, as well as aggressive print and radio advertising, have helped the hospital recruit highly qualified nursing and support staff.

Once staff was in place, the next step was competency training. More than 30 registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and other critical care professionals traveled to the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio to train with some of the country’s top cardiothoracic surgeons and nurses.

At the Cleveland Clinic, staff spent, on average, three weeks receiving extensive training in all areas of cardiothoracic surgery and intensive and cardiac care, from managing complications to stabilizing postoperative cardiac patients.

Registered nurse (RN) Terry Champagne said scrubbing in with some of the top heart surgeons in the world was like being on “Cloud Nine.” “I am a fifth-generation Newtown resident with aging parents in need of this type of care close to home,” she explained. “Being a part of this program and helping bring it to the community is the epitome of my career. Training at Cleveland reinforced everything that I learned in books,” she added. “The staff was so helpful. I was amazed at how well I did.”

RN Vicki Hatzis, who will be working in the Cardiothoracic Step-Down Unit, expresses the same enthusiasm. “While training at Cleveland’s ICU, I felt like I was on top of the world,” she said. “I can’t begin to explain how much I learned. I’m very excited to be part of this new program. It’s a great opportunity for me to grow professionally.”

RN Deidre Haley said that despite extensive experience as a cardiac care nurse, she learned a tremendous amount while at the Cleveland Clinic, particularly in the area of admitting and stabilizing postoperative cardiac patients, and working with intra-aortic balloon pumps. “Everyone at the Cleveland Clinic was enormously receptive and willing to teach,” Ms Haley said, noting that she assigned to the CTICU. “Cleveland has a high-intensity ICU, with a large number of high-risk patients. This training prepared us well to help our patients recover in Danbury.”

In addition to training at the Cleveland Clinic, staff also participated in an additional two weeks of training developed by Danbury Hospital Nursing Education, and a week of simulations, designed to ensure staff had been properly drilled in every possible cardiac scenario.

With training behind them, the cardiac team is anticipating great things. “I love taking care of surgical patients,” said RN Nina Farrell, who has worked on Danbury Hospital’s 30-bed surgical unit for the past four years. “We work well as a team and, because of our relatively small size, we’re able to be very patient focused.”

Kim D’Esposito, RN with the CTICU, added, “We’re going to do great. It’s exciting to be on the ground floor of such an exciting program.”