GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.- Walking into a new season, Community Hospital unveils its newest addition. Seven months of planning and building brings the Cardiovascular Procedure Center.
The new addition is not about what the hospital wants but what the community needs.
“We have a number of physicians here at Community Hospital, that we would refer to as referring providers, that have patients that have cardiac care needs,” Joe Gerardi elaborates, “So much of that drove our decision to move forward with the service line.
The Cardiovascular Procedure Center is an extension to Community Hospital’s status of being a level III trauma center.
“In Community Hospital’s newest facility it’s not just made from when you have a cardiac emergency,” Cora Dickey reports, “If you’re looking for a check up, there are diagnostic tests for stress and the overall health of your heart.”
The hospital has always provided services for the heart. From the cath lab to rehab, each procedure done in the center opens the door to focus on the area of expertise.
“The Cath Lab itself is just one piece of what we call cardiovascular services,” Scott Schlaud describes, “Cardiovascular services can include things like EKGs and echoes, T.E.Es or transesophageal echo, stress testing. We do pacemakers and catheterization here.”
With the project complete a month early, the Cardiovascular Procedure Center will be open to the public starting June 1. Starting out, the C.P.C. will be open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Some of the procedures that will be provided in the cardiac health lab include:
- Cardiac catheter
- Heart attack prevention and treatment
- Pacemaker insertions
- Heart failure testing, diagnostics and treatment
- Expanded stress testing and cardiac follow-up
- Peripheral vascular disease (vessels outside the heart)
