CCH February 2018 Department Discovery: CCMH Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory

The Campbell County Health February 2018 Department Discovery shines a light on the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (or Cath Lab) at Campbell County Memorial Hospital.

February, which is American Heart Health Month, is a great month to highlight the Cath Lab team as it is key to heart health for many individuals!

For those who don’t know, the cath lab is where cardiologists can diagnose and treat heart conditions using catheters instead of surgery. Many different procedures can be done in the cath lab instead of an operating room.

In the words of Cath Lab Manager Lorraine Maass, RN: “We provide 24/7 coverage for STEMI care. A STEMI is a type of heart attack where the coronary artery is completely blocked and can be fatal—the Cath Lab team finds the blockage and usually treats it with a stent. STEMIs are a sudden event and can happen at any time.” As a note: Sometimes a stent is not the treatment of choice; so the patient will be rapidly transferred to a hospital that can do bypass surgery.

Other urgent and elective procedures and device implantations the Cath Lab does include defibrillators, pacemakers, implantable loop recorders (ILR), peripheral artery intervention, renal (kidney) artery intervention, as well as implant ports for other procedures, and others.

CCMH’s Cath Lab is one of four cath labs in Wyoming. The six-person team may seem lean when you look at some of the other departments in the organization, but they are part of CCH’s robust Cardiovascular Services program. This program includes our highly skilled, board certified cardiologists—Drs. Sairav Shah, FACC and Nicholas Stamato, FACC—at the Campbell County Medical Group Cardiology clinic, as well as our Cardiac Rehabilitation team, which helps patients get back to their daily routine after a heart incident.

Lorraine says that the Cath Lab team is excited to be part of this program. “We think patient’s will get more streamlined care and appreciate seeing familiar faces everywhere in the treatment of their cardiovascular needs,” she says.

Lorraine says that the Cath Lab team is one of the most flexible teams she’s worked with, and she also says that they adapt very well to change. “The best thing about working here is the people. We all enjoy working with each other, and we work with terrific physicians who support and educate us,” she says.

A big round of applause to the Cath Lab Team! Thanks for helping to keep our patients happy and healthy. Learn more about the team at www.cchwyo.org/cathlab.