Reading Hospital has opened a new cardiac catheterization laboratory (cath lab) that will help to meet the growing demand for heart procedures in our region and allow for more patients to be diagnosed and treated each day.
“This is a state-of-the-art space where lives will be saved, and hearts will be healed,” said Earl Hope, MD, Chief, Division of Cardiology at Reading Hospital. “And that is reason to celebrate.”
The Reading Hospital Foundation raised the necessary funding to support the project and recently hosted a celebratory ribbon cutting with donors, employees, and community leaders to formally dedicate the new cath lab.
“I want to acknowledge the generosity of our donors,” said Katherine Thornton, President of Reading Hospital Foundation. “It is thanks to their kindness and support that the Reading Hospital Foundation was able to raise $2.1 million for this impressive facility that will help many people in our community.”
At the cath lab, interventional cardiologists can perform minimally invasive tests and procedures to diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks. In recent years, Reading Hospital, which received the Great Heart Program Award from Becker’s Hospital Review in August, has seen the number of heart and vascular patients increase. Currently, clinicians perform approximately 2,500 cardiac procedures annually.
The new lab space also allows clinicians to work more efficiently, reduce procedure times, and treat more patients each day. The high-quality imaging in the new space allows team members to perform delicate procedures such as mitral clip and device implantations. It will also help meet the increased technical demands of procedures.
“When our patients need care, we strive to give them the very best; and this new Cardiac Cath Lab will allow us to do just that,” said Charles F. Barbera, MD, Reading Hospital President and CEO. “We are so blessed to have some of the most compassionate and talented healthcare experts right here at Reading Hospital.”
