EP Lab Digest - October 2007 - (Page 10)

10 SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW OCTOBER 2007 Spotlight Interview Community Healthcare System Chris Atherton, RN, BSN, MPA, EP Regional Manager, EP Services What is the size of your EP lab facility and number of staff members? What is the mix of credentials at your lab? We have 10 FTEs in the department: 5 Registered Nurses, 2 Radiology Technicians, 1 Cardiac Tech, 1 Data Coordinator and 1 Regional Manager. There are 3 cardiac electrophysiologists and 1 anesthesiologist at St. Mary Medical Center and St. Catherine Hospital. There are 10 cardiac electrophysiologists on staff at Community Hospital. in Hobart, Indiana, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Indiana, and Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. In October 2003, staff from St. Mary Medical Center became regionalized and started providing services at all three institutions. There are four procedure rooms as well as four clinics across the system. What is the primary goal of your program (AF ablations, lead extractions, BiVs, etc.)? Our primary goal is to be able to provide a full-service EP program to the population of Northwest Indiana. We want to provide safe, quality care to all of our patients. Our goal is to provide all necessary services so our patients do not have to travel to obtain EP services. Continuity is a priority for us. All staff members are cross-trained to perform procedures in the EP lab and to care for patients in the clinic setting. Because of this, our patients meet the staff at their initial consultations, are cared for by the same staff during their procedure, and then again cared for by familiar staff during their follow-up care. Our complication rate is below national standards. We evaluate every case for any adverse event (AE), such as hematoma, pneumothorax, tamponade, lead dislodgements/device revisions (both chronic and acute) and infection. All AEs are reported to our Cardiac Quality Improvement committee for formal review. What types of procedures are performed at your facility? All three facilities are capable of doing basic EP work including standard ablations, EP studies, device implants (biventricular, defibrillators, pacemakers), tilts, NIPS and cardioversions. We do complex ablations with a 3D mapping system at St. Mary Medical Center, while laser lead extraction is done at Community Hospital. In addition, we have a regional transtelephonic pacing clinic as well as a program for remote monitoring of ICDs. Who manages your EP lab? Mark Dixon, DO is the Medical Director of the labs, while Chris Atherton, RN, BSN, MPA is the Regional Manager of EP Services. She has regional responsibilities for the dayto-day operation of all labs and clinics within the Community Healthcare System. In addition, Chris acts as the research coordinator for the research protocols that we participate in. She has 17+ years experience in the management of EP services. When was the EP lab started at your institution? The EP lab was started at St. Mary Medical Center in 1996. However, in 2001, our institution was purchased by Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana. At that time, the Community Healthcare System was formed.The system includes St. Mary Medical Center Approximately how many are performed each week? What complications do you find during these procedures? Is the EP lab separate from the cath lab? How long has this been? EP labs are separate from the cath labs at St. Mary Medical Center and St. Catherine Hospital.At Community Hospital, we share a room with the cath lab. St. Mary Medical Center has had an independent EP lab since its inception in 1996. Upon regionalization in 2003, St. Catherine has had a room that belongs primarily to EP but can be utilized if not needed for EP by the cath lab. Do you have cross training inside the EP lab? What are the regulations in your state? Staff are cross-trained to the clinic as well as the EP lab so they can perform all functions. RNs are trained to assist “at the table” in all procedures including device implants. The nursing staff performs all duties relating to the physiologic recorders and clinical stimulators. The RNs maintain competencies in the provision of intravenous sedation. Our EP Rad techs provide technical assistance to the physician during implants Figure 1. Martin Marquez, EP RT; Raghuram Dasari, MD, Cardiac Electrophysiologist; Amy Booth, EP Cardiac Tech; Kenneth Eng, MD, EP Anesthesiologist; Scott Kaufman, DO, Cardiac Electrophysiologist; Kathy Helms, EP RN; Melissa Schultz, EP RN; Chris Atherton, RN, Regional Manager, EP Services; Kellie Weeks, EP RN; Mark Dixon, DO, Medical Director, EP Services; Rayna Ehrhardt, EP Data Coordinator; Michelle Davis, EP RN; Patti Campano, EP RN.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EP Lab Digest - October 2007

Finally! The New Registered Cardiac Electrophysiology Specialist (RCES) Credential: Interview with Christopher M. Nelson, RN, RCIS, FSICP ECG 101: Closing the Gap Phenomenon Contents Letter from the Editor ICD Patient Support Group: St. Peter’s Hospital Spotlight Interview: Community Healthcare System Use of Magnetic Catheter Navigation for Ablation of Focal Tachycardias Echocardiography: The Preeminent Front Line Screening and Diagnostic Tool for Cardiovascular Imaging and Physiological Assessment First Annual EP Lab Digest Salary Survey: Last Chance! Clinical Trial Update: 2007 Email Discussion Group Adopting and Implementing the AF Ablation Consensus Statement Electrophysiology in the West Summit Events Calendar The Sustained Treatment of Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (STOP AF) Clinical Trial: Interview with Kevin Wheelan, MD Industry News and Products

EP Lab Digest - October 2007

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