Tampa's St. Joseph's Hospital opens new heart institute

St. Joseph's Hospital of Tampa, Fla., opened a new $20 million Heart Institute Feb. 10. The 35,000-square-foot facility includes a hybrid integrated digital surgical suite, which the hospital says will help save money by allowing multiple operations to take place at the same time.

Other features include a17-bed pre-operation and recovery area, an expanded family waiting room and nine surgical procedure rooms, including three cardiovascular operating suites, three cardiac catheterization labs and two electrophysiology labs.

Previously, the hospital's Heart Institute was spread across two floors. The new location is above the pediatric and adult emergency departments, which the hospital hopes will expedite patient transport time from the emergency department and improve departmental collaboration.

Founded in 1934 as a mission by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany, St. Joseph's has since gained national recognition for its Heart Institute. In January 2011, it was among the first in the country to successfully use cryoablation—a process that uses extremely cold temperature to treat atrial fibrillation—in a patient rather than as a part of a clinical trial.

"Our physicians are at the forefront of cardiac care,” said Pam D'Amore, St. Joseph's Hospital Heart Institute director in a news release.

The not-for-profit healthcare provider, part of the Clearwater, Fla.-based BayCare Health System, has performed more than 74,000 adult cardiac catheterizations.

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