Children's Heart Center
Their Best and Only Hope

WINTER 2004 -- They come from all over the country, bundled in blankets, sometimes breathless and blue in the face as their small hearts struggle to keep pumping. Other doctors deem their defects inoperable. Surgery at Packard is their best and only hope.

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Patients at Packard Children's Heart Center differ from the "standard mix" seen in other heart programs. Explains Daniel Bernstein, M.D., the Alfred Woodley Salter and Mabel Smith Salter Endowed Professor in Pediatrics and chief of cardiology: "We have a very complex, high-risk patient mix, sent here from other hospitals because of the worldwide reputation of our surgeons." And yet, he says, the program's overall surgical mortality is less than 2 percent, which is better than the national standards. Saving more lives while treating the sickest kids is the kind of measurable success that makes the Heart Center a showcase of the Campaign's transformational power. Today, it is recognized as one of the best in the nation.

"We made a coordinated effort to recruit an outstanding surgical team, as well as an outstanding team of clinical cardiologists and basic researchers," says Bernstein. "There is no way we could have done that without the Campaign."

Two of the early, high-profile recruits were Frank Hanley, M.D., and V. Mohan Reddy, M.D., pediatric cardiac surgeons renowned for their work with seemingly hopeless congenital heart defects. "Not only do they achieve top results, but they are also top academic surgeons – leaders in developing new technologies," says Bernstein, citing Reddy's and Hanley's pioneering advances in fetal surgery and in the complete repair of cardiac lesions affecting very small infants and preemies.

Packard's Children's Heart Center, led by cardithoracic surgeon Frank Hanley, M.D., (center), is now considered one of the nation's top pediatric cardiac programs.

Equally important, both surgeons recognized from the start the value of building a great team, says Bernstein, who recruited them in 2001. "You can’t take a surgeon in isolation and get those kinds of results. You need an entire team, from the surgeon at the top to the nurse and respiratory therapist at the bedside, to the x-ray technician, radiologist, anesthesiologist, cardiologist – all specialists dedicated to children with heart problems."

Bringing Hanley, Reddy, and other big names on board has had a domino effect, attracting more top specialists to what arguably is today the finest pediatric cardiac team anywhere. In all, the program has 10 distinguished new recruits (see sidebar), including pioneers in anesthesia, diagnostic imaging, and interventional cardiology, among others.

One of the recent recruits is Stephen J. Roth, M.D., M.P.H., a national leader in pediatric cardiac intensive care. Hiring Roth was "a key component in building the Heart Center," says Bernstein. "We've had an excellent team of intensivists here in the past, but what we haven't had are intensivists dedicated to children with heart disease."

"This is a great opportunity for me," says Roth. "Among children's hospitals in the country, Packard has developed a high degree of momentum, and this is especially the case within the Heart Center. It’s very appealing to be part of a team that is focused on developing innovative therapies for children with congenital heart defects."

New hire Stephen Roth, M.D., M.P.H., directs Packard's expanding cardiovascular intensive care unit.

Roth is responsible for pre and post-surgical care for children with congenital and acquired heart disease. As such, he will direct Packard's new cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU), slated for groundbreaking in 2005, which exemplifies the need for expanded patient services when a successful program grows. An inspiring researcher and teacher, Roth is also developing novel ways to train others in his skills.

As the Heart Center advances to the top of its field, its mission reaches beyond the Hospital's walls. "One important compass of our excellence is the legacy we leave to the future," says Bernstein. "The development of teaching programs such as Dr. Roth's in the CVICU will enable us to take advances made at Packard and spread them to other hospitals elsewhere in the world by way of our trainees. In the end, it means we will help more children – and that is why we’re here."