'Saved my life': Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital heart surgery unit fills community need
Patient Roger Goodson appreciates getting quadruple bypass heart surgery closer to his Murfreesboro home at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.
Last winter, heart surgery close by wasn't an option, but the hospital's investment in the new heart wing brings the much-needed medical service to patients in the surrounding Rutherford County area. Now the hospital is equipped with two heart surgery operating rooms and eight intensive care beds.
"To me, why would you want to go somewhere else when you have that ability right here in Rutherford (County)," said Goodson, a Murfreesboro resident who's general manager of Consolidated Utility District for water services for much of Rutherford County.
The heart surgery team at the hospital in the fast-growing Medical Center Parkway area provided Goodson with "state of the art" services for quadruple bypass surgery Dec. 14. He's among the first estimated 230 patients to undergo heart surgery by Jan. 12 after Saint Thomas added the treatment April 2023. The number of patients served exceeds the hospitals estimation of serving approximately 160 patients in its first several months after opening.
The hospital won certificate of need approval from the state to add heart surgery in 2021.
"I could not thank my surgeons, my nurses and everybody for everything they’ve done for me," Goodson said.
"They’ve saved my life."
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Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital Chief Executive Officer Gordon Ferguson said his staff had planned to add heart surgery for many years.
"We actually planned for this service when we designed the operating suites up on the second floor to accommodate this type of procedure," Ferguson said.
Heart surgeries at the Murfreesboro hospital started with Dr. Wilson Clements leading a team of well-trained professionals that next added another heart surgeon, Dr. Aaron Hoffman, Ferguson said.
The CEO expects the heart surgery team to eventually add some of the more complicated heart surgeries offered at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West.
"I think it’s very important that we walk before we run," Ferguson said. "We’ve done a very good job with the procedures we’ve done to date."
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Goodson convinced by 98% success rate for surgery
Goodson's recovery from heart surgery went quickly to his surprise.
"I left after three days," said Goodson, whose Saint Thomas stay was faster than the upper 5% of recovering patients who remain at the hospital for five to seven days.
Prior to the quadruple bypass, Goodson said Deepesh Subedi, a nurse practitioner at Ascension Saint Thomas Medical Partners New Salem, advised him to see Dr. Ramya Suryadevara, a cardiologist at the Murfreesboro hospital.
The doctor examined his heart with an ultrasound and went over stress test results that Goodson had failed. She also studied an echogram, which is an magnetic resonance imaging of the heart, and then gave him an angiogram, which is adding a stent to open up an artery.
"My arteries were too clogged for the stents," Goodson said. "She said you have to have surgery."
Suryadevara referred Goodson to Hoffman. The heart surgeon told Goodson he had a choice of skipping surgery and facing possible massive heart attack or pursuing a quadruple bypass that has a 98% success rate.
"It was a pretty easy choice," Goodson said.
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Heart surgery teams seeks to provide 'boutique experience'
Goodson also said having the heart surgery in Murfreesboro prevented his wife, Christine, from worrying about the commute to Nashville to spend time with him before and after the quadruple bypass, such as at Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital West.
"She could be here in 10 minutes to see me," he said while talking about his treatment in the Murfreesboro hospital lobby. "We loved everything that happened here."
Ferguson, the hospital CEO, agreed the shorter commute for heart surgery is an advantage.
"It's a big difference-maker for these patients and their families to have this care delivered here and not have to make the trek up I-24 for the care," Ferguson said.
One of the goals by the heart surgery team is to provide a "boutique experience" for the patients, said Luke Parham, a physicians assistant.
"They compliment the staff on how nice they are," Parham said.
Dr. Thomas Lind, a cardiac anesthesiologist, described the team goal as providing a "more patient-centered experience."
Ferguson said the hospital staff seeks to retain characteristics of a small town.
"Although we've grown, we’ve continued to make sure that our staff treat our patients as they would want their family members cared for, because in many cases, we are taking care of our neighbors here," Ferguson said.
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Heart surgery team provides 'small town hospital' service
The patients are getting a team with strong experience, Dr. Hoffman said.
"We've all known each other a long time," Hoffman said. "The need is there, and we're providing it."
Cardiac clinical supervisor Bridgett Prichard said the team chooses to be in suburban Murfreesboro rather than larger Nashville.
"We're here because we want to be in a small town hospital," said Prichard, who resides in the rural Eagleville community on the far southwest side of Rutherford County.
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Heart surgeries exceed expectations
The team that includes nurse practitioner Hallie McNew had expected to perform 160 heart surgeries in the first seven months instead of a count that increased to about 200.
"Heart surgery is a need with our aging population," said McNew, who was born and raised in Murfreesboro and graduated in 1998 from Riverdale High School.
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Goodson is glad to be among the local population who needed the life-saving heart surgery in Murfreesboro.
"My whole experience with the entire process was just unbelievable," Goodson said.
"The surgeons, the nurses, the ICU nurses, everybody did such a great job."
Heart disease statistics:
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
One person dies every 34 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease
About 697,000 people in the United States died from heart disease in 2020—that’s 1 in every 5 deaths
Compiled by Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
Heart surgery team in Murfreesboro
Heart surgeons: Dr. Wilson Clements; Dr. Aaron Hoffman
Cardiac anesthesiologist: Dr. Thomas Lind
Physicians Assistant: Luke Parham; Kinsley Snyder
Nurse practitioners: Hallie McNew;
Cardiac clinical supervisor: Bridgett Prichard
Source: Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Saint Thomas Rutherford's new heart unit exceeds patient estimates
