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U.VA. LAUNCHES STATEWIDE CHILDREN'S HEART CENTERThe University of Virginia Health System has launched the first children's heart center to serve communities across the state. The new Virginia Children's Heart Center joins pediatric cardiologists from Abingdon to Williamsburg with the U.Va. Children's Medical Center and Heart Center, ranked among the nation's top 25 heart programs by U.S. News and World Report.When treating a child with a heart defect, the answers are not always immediately clear, even for the best-trained cardiologist, said Dr. Paul Matherne, medical co-director of the center. The heart center provides a team approach that can yield the best insights, and therefore the best treatment. The network currently links U.Va.'s seven pediatric cardiologists and researchers with private practices in Bluefield, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke and hospitals and clinics in Abingdon, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Richlands, Roanoke, Williamsburg, Winchester and Wytheville. The U.Va. pediatric cardiac surgery program is one of the largest in the mid-Atlantic region and treats 150 to 200 cases each year. Dr. Irving Kron, surgical co-director of the center and professor of thoracic surgery, corrects birth defects such as a hole in the heart, missing valves or malformed blood vessels. Such defects are a leading cause of infant death nationwide, Matherne said. Heart doctors for children are scarce in some parts of Virginia, Matherne said. In the areas that do have a pediatric cardiologist, we want to offer the best possible sub-specialty care. In areas that do not, we hope to link hospitals to U.Va.'s resources through telemedicine. The U.Va. Telemedicine Program aims to give communities across the state continuous access to pediatric heart care. Pediatric cardiologist Karen Rheuban directs the program, which can transmit video images of x-rays, electrocardiograms and other diagnostics from remote locations 24 hours a day, along with consultations by U.Va. specialists. The cost effectiveness is tremendous for patients and their families who no longer have to travel long distances by ambulances or helicopter for a diagnosis, Rheuban said. At the Winchester Medical Center, neonatologist Dr. Teresa Clawson used the Virginia Children's Heart Center to accurately diagnose heart defects in a premature newborn who was treated at U.Va. The teamwork between our two institutions allows a smooth transition to and from specialized surgery at U.Va. so that patients finish their hospitalization in the community where their families are, Clawson said. The center's network also benefits from U.Va.'s extensive cardiac research programs, which include:
January 7, 2000 |