麻豆果冻传媒

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford Plans Major Expansion of its World-renowned Heart Center

Largest, most experienced pediatric heart surgery program on the West Coast performs over 600 surgeries a year, and plans for more capacity through expansion

For Release: September 8, 2015

STANFORD, Calif. 鈥 It鈥檚 a very exciting time for Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and 麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health.

This month marks a two-year countdown to the opening of the hospital鈥檚 . Almost doubling the size of the current hospital and adding 149 patient beds, the expansion and new main building will increase access to America鈥檚 most advanced and family-friendly hospital for children and expectant mothers.

The September, 2017 opening will ensure that families who need high-quality care aren鈥檛 turned away due to lack of space. It will also provide a launching pad for expanding and renovating the current hospital next door. This will include creating room to grow the nationally-ranked Pediatric Heart Center, which due to demand will premiere a new and larger space in 2018.

鈥淭his is excellent news for patients and their families,鈥 said Stephen Roth, MD, MPH, director of the Heart Center with famed pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon and Heart Center executive director, Frank Hanley, MD. 鈥淓xpanding our Heart Center means that even more children with complex heart problems, as well as growing numbers of adult survivors of congenital heart disease, will have access to one of America鈥檚 most advanced programs. Many of these children and adult survivors have run out of options elsewhere.鈥

In a new Q&A, Roth talks about the growth and the expansion of the Heart Center

Why is the Heart Center growing?

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very simple answer,鈥 said Roth, who is also a professor of pediatric cardiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an increasing demand for our highly specialized services and the many different congenital and acquired heart conditions we treat. We have a well-deserved reputation for expert teamwork, advanced tools and technology, and one of the most highly qualified and experienced physician and care teams anywhere.

鈥淎nd we鈥檙e not the only ones around here who are growing due to increased demand. Just down the street, will open an expansion in 2016 that increases its capacity to more than 100 rooms. This will make it one of the largest Ronald McDonald Houses in the world, and it鈥檚 where many of our Heart Center families find a supportive community and home-away-from-home while their child receives treatment.鈥

How large is the 2018 Heart Center expansion?

鈥淲e鈥檙e adding seven Outpatient Heart Center clinic rooms, making a total of 12, and creating and equipping 22 new inpatient beds. Together, this takes us from our current 20 to 36 beds in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, and 20 to 26 beds in our cardiology ward. There will also be six new operating suites in the hospital expansion, so the new total will be 13 when added to our existing number of seven. This means more access for lifesaving heart surgeries and transplants. We are also creating a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab and expanding our advanced imaging capabilities.鈥

What about staffing?

鈥淏uilding our bigger team is already under way, and it includes a nationwide recruitment of the most highly skilled cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses and other staff. They will join more than 250 professionals who currently work in the Heart Center.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very lucky that so many people want to be a part of what we do,鈥 Roth added. 鈥淓ach person on our Heart Center team knows that they are playing a critical role in helping to advance the field of pediatric cardiology, and they are proud of Stanford鈥檚 reputation for excellence.鈥澛

What makes the Heart Center so successful?

鈥淎 combination of research, innovation, and outstanding care and outcomes,鈥 Roth said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e currently taking part in more than 20 clinical research trials. And when it comes to innovation, Stanford has long been a world leader. America鈥檚 first successful adult heart transplant was performed by Dr. Norman Shumway at Stanford in 1968, and we鈥檝e been building on that achievement ever since. Now, 47 years later, we are able to save children鈥檚 lives in ways that we did not imagine were possible in those early days of discovery.

鈥淔or instance, Dr. Hanley has perfected a cardiac operation termed . This is often a marathon surgery our Heart Center surgical team offers that creates or rebuilds the blood vessels in the lungs of children with certain types of complex heart defects. Other surgeons choose to instead perform multiple operations over months or years that do not adequately rebuild these blood vessels. This requires multiple surgeries and hospitalizations that ultimately do not produce the best possible results.

鈥淥ffering an innovative surgery like unifocalization and its 98 percent success rate is one of the reasons Dr. Hanley is beloved by families and has been called by his peers 鈥榦ne of the elite half-dozen cardiothoracic surgeons in America.鈥欌

What is the patient impact?

鈥淎 compelling way to measure impact is through the stories of the lives we save,鈥 Roth said. 鈥淛ust read about 3-year-old Kate Zuno of Ukiah, Calif., who is successfully recovering from a recent heart transplant. Or, the story of . No other team could perform the repairs needed on Nayra鈥檚 heart, so she and her family traveled 6000 miles to Stanford where she was successfully treated by Dr. Hanley and our Heart Center team.

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 offering the most innovative technology and treatments, or the latest in cutting-edge protocols, we want to ensure children like Kate and Nayra can access the care they need to have best chance for a healthier life. This will be the true impact of our hospital and Heart Center expansion. We are passionate about this鈥攏o child should ever be turned away from the best care possible simply because we don鈥檛 have enough space.鈥

By the Numbers: Last Year at the Pediatric Heart Center

  • 6600 outpatient visits
  • More than 600 heart surgeries, and another 500 surgeries at Heart Center partner programs: UCSF Benioff Children鈥檚 Hospital Oakland, Sutter Memorial Center in Sacramento, and Valley Children鈥檚 Hospital in Madera
  • 25 heart transplants
  • 16 ventricular assist device implants
  • 8,238 transthoracic echocardiograms
  • 1,030 admissions to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit
  • 20 clinical trials currently under way

Authors

Robert Dicks
(650) 497-8364
rdicks@stanfordchildrens.org

About 麻豆果冻传媒 Children's Health

麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health, with聽Lucile Packard Children鈥檚 Hospital Stanford聽at its center, is the Bay Area鈥檚 largest health care system exclusively dedicated to children and expectant mothers. Our network of care includes more than 65聽locations聽across Northern California and more than 85 locations in the U.S. Western region.聽Along with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford School of Medicine, we are part of聽, an ecosystem harnessing the potential of biomedicine through collaborative research, education, and clinical care to improve health outcomes around the world. We are a nonprofit organization committed to supporting the community through meaningful outreach programs and services and providing necessary medical care to families, regardless of their ability to pay. Discover more at聽stanfordchildrens.org.

About Stanford University School of Medicine

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation鈥檚 top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit聽. The medical school is part of 麻豆果冻传媒, which includes Stanford Health Care and 麻豆果冻传媒 Children鈥檚 Health. For information about all three, please visit聽.