EAST CHICAGO | Community Healthcare System and U.S. Rep. Frank J. Mrvan announce funding for advanced imaging technology for life-saving cardiac care at St. Catherine Hospital.
The $1.5 million support is provided through a grant from the Health Resources & Services Administration, a federal agency for improving access to healthcare services for people who are underinsured or medically vulnerable. As a disproportionate share healthcare facility, St. Catherine Hospital relies on public subsidies to help finance its important mission of caring for the community.
“Thank you to all of the leaders at St. Catherine Hospital for your initiative to secure this impactful federal resource,” Rep. Mrvan said. “I am grateful that this positive action will enhance your abilities to provide care and services for all those in need in East Chicago and throughout our region.”
The collaboration with Rep. Mrvan is part of Community Healthcare System’s commitment at St. Catherine Hospital to providing advanced technology and services to East Chicago and the surrounding communities for nearly a century.
“St. Catherine Hospital is committed to ensuring that our community has state-of-the-art cardiac care close to home,” said Leo Correa, CEO of the East Chicago hospital. “It’s a well-known fact that in the 1960s, St. Catherine Hospital became the choice facility in the Chicagoland area for the treatment of heart disease, performing the first open heart surgery in Northwest Indiana. And today, we continue to invest in cardiac care and treating heart disease.”
The focal point in the updated space is the Azurion 7 C20 Catalyst table. This image-guided therapy system from Philips Healthcare provides high quality imaging at low X-ray dose levels. The technology meets the evolving needs of the cath lab and includes Cardiac Swing to capture uncommon angiography views, StentBoost Live to improve the visualization during balloon and stent placement in the coronary arteries and real-time 3D impressions for complex vascular interventions. This technology will support precision diagnosis and treatment for patients.
The investment is part of a multi-phase modernization project of the cardiac catheterization lab at the hospital. When complete, the cath lab suites will feature the most advanced equipment and procedural systems as well as enhancements to the control room, including new cabinetry and flooring throughout.
“Both our patients and clinicians benefit from the faster procedure times, reduced radiation exposure and superior image quality of this new technology,” said Mary Miller, Director of Cardiovascular Services.
For more information about cardiac care at the hospitals of Community Healthcare System – Community Hospital in Munster, St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart and Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center in Crown Point – visit COMHS.org/heart or call 219-836-3477.
