What is the size of your cath lab facility and number of staff members?
The North Shore Medical Center (NSMC)-Salem cardiac catheterization laboratory is located in Salem, Massachusetts. The NSMC-Salem is a diverse community teaching hospital that is a member of Partners HealthCare, an integrated healthcare delivery system. Salem is a historical city approximately 30 minutes north of Boston. The cardiac cath lab is one clinical area of the NSMC’s full-spectrum cardiac service line, which includes the NSMC Wellness Program, cardiac rehabilitation, inpa

I received a question from Mr. Tharen J. Leesch, CVT-AAS, from Florida Hospital, Zephyrhills, Florida, who asked, “What are the standards for documentation in a cath lab report? What should be in it, how specific should it be, and what is too specific?”

When charting and writing medical notes, we have to ask for whom are the notes written. Notes are written for 3 groups of people: 1) the lawyers who may become involved with medical legal problems; 2) the hospital billing and quality control people, and 3) medical caregivers. This last group depends on the use of th

Can you describe the bioabsorbable stent used in the ABSORB trial?
This bioabsorbable stent has struts made of polylactic acid and an additional polylactic acid coating contains the anti-proliferative drug everolimus. Everolimus is also used on Abbott’s Xience V stent, which is commercially available in many parts of the world. The struts and the coating on Abbott’s bioabsorbable stent are designed to be fully absorbed by the body over time. The idea behind a bioabsorbable stent is that the struts only exist for as long as needed to support the vesse

The primary goal of treatment in patients presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is reperfusion of the infarcted myocardium. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has emerged as preferred reperfusion therapy for STEMI.¹ To protect the microcirculation against distal embolization during primary PCI, various mechanical devices have been developed. Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that manual thrombus aspiration for STEMI is safe and results in improved myocardial perfusion when compared with conventional angioplasty.^2–4 In some

Recruiting qualified candidates for healthcare organizations poses several significant challenges. The first is directly related to today’s technologically savvy workers who prefer to use the World Wide Web as the primary means for conducting their job search. Healthcare organizations seeking to attract qualified candidates have no choice but to use their websites as a means for gathering resumes, which takes time and effort to implement. According to a report released by the Pew Internet Project, over 52 million Americans have hit the internet in search of a job. In fact, many app

“We have some physicians that do unusual things when trying to analyze valves. What is the correct way?” — RCIS Online student

Part III.
In our third and final article in this series, we will touch on valve interventions that can be done in the cath lab.
In Part I (April 2008) and Part II, (May 2008), we showed different ways that the aortic valve and mitral valve can be analyzed. When gradients are found, this can often be seen with signs and symptoms. As mentioned previously, stenosis and regurgitation could be present as

With today’s often urgent need to both communicate and gain access to information, more and more healthcare providers and agencies want to be able to distribute data and information in sophisticated ways. While the business and social repercussions of the digital convergence revolution (the merging of different forms of media) are still being understood, the end result is the arrival of transparent, seamless access to services and information, regardless of location.¹ No matter our discipline, medical professionals want to be able to work together to discuss shared chall

What Does the Literature Tell Us About Anxiety?
Over the years there has been a great deal of research supporting the contention that the majority of patients suffer from anxiety prior to invasive procedures. Anxiety, as defined by Wilson-Barnett, is the fear of the unknown, disproportionate to the threat and related to the future.¹ It is characterized by an individual’s inability to specify the source of the threat.² Anxiety has been shown to lead to high levels of stress, creating delays in recovery and increased length of stay within the

What is the size and scope of your health system?
Solaris Health System serves the central New Jersey area with two acute care hospitals, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation centers, convalescent facilities and specialized treatment programs. The system was created in 1997 through the consolidation of JFK Medical Center (535 beds) and Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center (396 beds).

Could you describe the current cardiovascular program at Solaris?
At Muhlenberg Regional, we offer preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, invasive and non-invasiv

On April 26th and 27th, 2008, Crawford Long Hospital of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, supported their cath lab staff by sponsoring a Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS) Board Review Course. The program was coordinated through Shane Cole, RN, Cath Lab Educator, Cardiology Services, Crawford Long Hospital of Emory University. Forty-one cath lab professionals attended the two-day course.
The guest presenters were Marsha Holton, BS, RN, CCRN, RCIS, FSICP, Cardiovascular Orientation Programs, and Todd Ginapp, EMT-P, RCIS, FSICP, Cardiology Manager, Memorial Hermann S