Graduate Medical Education Program celebrates expansion

On Thursday, June 27, a ribbon cutting was held on the campus of The Medical Center at Bowling Green, the flagship hospital of Med Center Health, to celebrate the expansion of the Graduate Medical Education Program. The Medical Center at Bowling Green, in partnership with the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, currently offers three training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). These programs are designed to produce skilled, competent and compassionate physicians focused on delivering patient-centered, evidence-based care.

The Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, which began in July 2015, will complete its fourth full year of operation on June 30, 2019. In July 2016, The Medical Center expanded its Graduate Medical Education Program with the addition of a Psychiatry Residency Program and a Cardiology Fellowship Program. On June 15, The Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Residency Program celebrated its second graduating class and the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program celebrated its first graduating class.

Effective July 1, 2019, The Medical Center will again expand its Graduate Medical Education Program by adding three residency programs and two fellowship programs including an Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program, a General Surgery Residency Program, a Transitional Year Residency Program, a Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship Program, and an Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program. As of next month, 58 residents and fellows will be enrolled in graduate medical education programs offered at The Medical Center.

As a teaching hospital, The Medical Center at Bowling Green benefits the community in a variety of ways, including physician recruitment and retention, access to more advanced healthcare, medical research, and an improved local economy.

“Med Center Health is dedicated to educating the next generation of physicians and ensuring exceptional healthcare in our region for years to come,” says Connie Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer of Med Center Health. “The physical and economic health of Bowling Green and surrounding communities will improve as more physicians choose to establish their practices in close proximity to where they received outstanding training. It is the ultimate win-win scenario.”

The Medical Center offers residents and fellows the opportunity to learn in a leading regional teaching facility with state-of-the-art technology and a diverse patient mix under supervision provided by outstanding board-certified teaching faculty.

To learn more about Graduate Medical Education at The Medical Center at Bowling Green, visit TheMedicalCenter.org/medical_education.

Medical Center EMS receives American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Recognition Award

Medical Center EMS has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus Award for implementing quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who experience severe heart attacks.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) the deadliest type of heart attack caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

The Mission: Lifeline initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. Mission: Lifeline’s EMS recognition program recognizes emergency medical services for their efforts in improving systems of care to rapidly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify the hospital and trigger an early response from the awaiting hospital personnel.

“Med Center Health and Medical Center EMS are dedicated to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said Jim Berry, Director of Medical Center EMS. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in emergency medical care efforts through Mission: Lifeline.”

“EMTs and paramedics play a vital part in the system of care for those who have heart attacks,” said Tim Henry, M.D., Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome Subcommittee. “Since they often are the first medical point of contact, they can save precious minutes of treatment time by activating the emergency response system that alerts hospitals to an incoming heart attack patient. We applaud Medical Center EMS for achieving this award in following evidence-based guidelines in the treatment of people who have severe heart attacks.”

The Medical Center at Bowling Green offers life-changing procedure for patients with Atrial Fibrillation

The Medical Center at Bowling Green is the first and only hospital in our region to offer the WATCHMAN™ Left Atrial Appendage Closure (LAAC) Device for patients at risk of stroke due to Atrial Fibrillation (AF). The WATCHMAN device is an alternative to the lifelong use of blood thinners such as warfarin in people with AF not caused by a heart valve problem (also known as non-valvular AF). It is also the only device approved by the FDA for stroke prevention.

The WATCHMAN device is implanted in a one-time procedure to close off an area of the heart called the left atrial appendage (LAA). The LAA is a non-essential part of the heart where blood clots can form in patients with AF, increasing the risk of stroke. The device is permanent— it doesn’t have to be replaced and can’t be seen outside the body. The procedure is done under general anesthesia and takes about an hour. Patients commonly stay in the hospital overnight and leave the next day.

“The WATCHMAN device is an important alternative for patients with non-valvular AF at risk for a stroke, especially those with a compelling reason not to be on blood thinners,” said Deepak Gaba, MD, Electrophysiologist with Sahetya Medical Group. “I’m proud to have performed the very first implant of this device at The Medical Center at Bowling Green as it offers our patients potentially life-changing stroke risk treatment.”

About Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heart condition where the upper chambers of the heart (atrium) beat too fast and with irregular rhythm (fibrillation). AF is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, currently affecting more than five million Americans. Twenty percent of all strokes occur in patients with AF, and AF-related strokes are more frequently fatal and disabling. The most common treatment to reduce stroke risk in patients with AF is blood-thinning warfarin medication. Despite its proven efficacy, long-term warfarin medication is not well-tolerated by some patients and carries a significant risk for bleeding complications. Nearly half of AF patients eligible for warfarin are currently untreated due to tolerance and adherence issues.

For more information about cardiac services offered by Med Center Health, visit MedCenterHealth.org.