Tanner Health celebrated 20 years of performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at Adams Heart Center at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton on Oct. 13, recognizing the physicians, nurses, technicians and staff whose skill, compassion and dedication have helped provide advanced heart care to patients throughout west Georgia for the past two decades.
Commonly known as coronary angioplasty, PCI is a minimally invasive procedure that opens blocked or narrowed heart arteries and restores blood flow to the heart. Since the first PCI procedure was performed at Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton in 2006, Adams Heart Center has performed more than 32,000 diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and more than 9,200 PCI procedures, helping thousands of patients receive timely, lifesaving cardiac care close to home.
The anniversary celebration brought together physicians, employees, board members, donors and community members to recognize this milestone and the people behind it. Notes from former patients were also shared.
"As we celebrate 20 years of performing PCI, we're celebrating the people who have made this milestone possible," said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner Health. "For two decades, our heart care team has been there for patients and families during some of the most critical moments of their lives. Their commitment to excellence has helped ensure our communities have access to exceptional heart care close to home."
The program's success reflects the work of teams across Tanner, from emergency medical services and emergency department staff to cardiac catheterization teams, imaging specialists, hospital units and support departments. Each day, approximately 20 team members, in addition to physicians and advanced practice providers, help operate and staff the three cardiac catheterization labs in Carrollton, ensuring care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Last fiscal year alone, Adams Heart Center performed more than 2,000 diagnostic cardiac catheterizations and more than 700 PCI procedures.
Christopher Arant, MD, FACC, FSCAI, and Shazib Khawaja, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FSVM, interventional cardiologists with Tanner Heart Care, were instrumental in establishing Tanner's PCI program 20 years ago. As part of the Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team Trial (CPORT), Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton was among the community hospitals demonstrating that PCI could be performed safely and effectively without on-site cardiac surgery backup. This helped expand access to advanced heart care for patients who previously had to travel outside their community for treatment.
"For 20 years, our team has worked together with one goal in mind: providing the highest quality care for every patient who walks through our doors," said Dr. Arant. "This celebration is a reminder that great heart care is never the work of one person. It takes an entire team dedicated to serving patients with compassion and skill, striving for excellence every day."
"When Dr. Arant and I helped start this program 20 years ago, our goal was to bring advanced heart care closer to home for the people in our community," said Dr. Khawaja. "To see how far we've come — from those early days to the full continuum of heart care we offer today — is incredibly rewarding. Our patients now have access to comprehensive cardiac services right here in their community, without having to travel to other hospitals for many of their heart care needs. That's what this program has always been about: making a difference in the lives of the people we serve."
That commitment to timely care continues today. Adams Heart Center's average door-to-balloon time for patients experiencing an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a severe type of heart attack, is consistently below the American College of Cardiology Chest Pain Center benchmark of 90 minutes or less. Door-to-balloon time measures how quickly a blocked artery is opened after a patient arrives at the hospital, an important factor in improving outcomes for heart attack patients.
Tanner Medical Center/Carrollton also maintains Chest Pain Center accreditation from the American College of Cardiology and a designation as a Level I Emergency Cardiac Care Center through the Georgia Department of Public Health.
As part of the anniversary celebration, Tanner invited patients, families, employees and community members to “Share Your Heart” by leaving messages of appreciation for the teams who made a difference in their care or the care of someone they love.
Guests also had the opportunity to make gifts in honor of someone meaningful to them. These gifts will support the future of heart care at Tanner and help continue the organization's commitment to providing advanced cardiovascular services close to home.
Today, Tanner Heart Care offers a comprehensive continuum of cardiovascular services — from prevention and diagnosis to advanced treatment and ongoing care. PCI is also available at Tanner Medical Center/Villa Rica, and Tanner Heart & Vascular Specialists, part of Tanner Medical Group, has office locations in Bremen, Carrollton and Villa Rica, Georgia, and Wedowee, Alabama, helping bring heart care closer to home for patients across the region. Building on the foundation established 20 years ago, Adams Heart Center continues to expand services, including cardiac surgery, structural heart care and electrophysiology, to meet the growing needs of patients throughout west Georgia and east Alabama. To learn more about Tanner Heart Care, visit tanner.org/heart-care.
To celebrate this milestone by sharing a message or making a gift in honor of someone, visit tanner.org/share-your-heart.