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Western Baptist Heart Center Reflects Care Demands

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 November 2005, 18:01 CST

By Joe Walker, The Paducah Sun, Ky.

Nov. 23--Western Baptist Hospital plans to have a $20 million heart center open by next spring to keep pace with current patient load, rapidly changing technology and an expected sharp increase in care as baby boomers age.

"Part of the problem is we've just outgrown our space over here," said Dr. Ken Ford, a cardiologist and president of the hospital's medical staff. "With newer cath lab technology and digital imaging, we just need more space to grow."

He and seven other Western Baptist and civic officials broke ground Tuesday for the 79,000-square-foot building adjacent to the emergency room. The center is designed to provide immediate access from the emergency department and will have two levels, with a helicopter pad on the roof.

The first floor will house cardiac rehabilitation, cardiac cath labs, echo-cardiology, ultrasound and stress testing areas. Additional space is designed into the building to accommodate emerging technologies of cardiac care. The second floor will house an auditorium as space for advanced educational programs.

Patients will be able to register in the center. Parking will be on the hospital's east end and north side, near Broadway. The main entrance of the heart center will be off 24th Street, and an ambulance canopy will face Kentucky Avenue.

Heart care is increasing as the population ages and will rise markedly as baby boomers reach their senior years, Ford said.

"A lot of people are more interested in having non-invasive imaging than invasive imaging, and will readily undergo some of these other tests," he said. "So the volume is really going up, and the technology is developing faster than science can keep up with the medical application of it."

He said Western Baptist's 64-slice heart scanner is considered state-of-the-art, yet will probably have to be replaced with a prototype 256-slice scanner within 18 months. The sophisticated equipment can detect early calcium deposits that mark heart disease before there are symtoms.

"It's just like buying your home computer. If you don't replace it every 18 months you'll be left behind," he said. "MRI scanning may replace these new CT scanners. That's how fast the technology is going, and we want to be able to adapt to that."

As the population ages, more and more patients in their 80s need heart care who otherwise are healthy, Ford said. With aging, there also is a shortage of cardiologists as doctors retire, and the new center will help recruit physicians to replace them, he said.

The heart center marks the latest phase of the hospital's strategic plan. Board chairman Jeff Holland said Western Baptist opened a diagnostic center a few weeks ago on the opposite side of the campus.

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Source: The Paducah Sun

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