Company Profile
Centra Cardiothoracic Surgery
Company Overview
The Cardiovascular Group is home to twenty cardiologists, two cardiothoracic surgeons and a vascular surgeon, all who specialize in the major disciplines of cardiology including electrophysiology, interventional, noninvasive cardiology and pediatric/adult congenital. Our physicians are board certified in cardiology and are acknowledged both nationally and locally as leaders in the field of cardiovascular care. The group is supported by a full-time staff of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, medical assistants and certified technologist.
Centra Health (Centra), a nonprofit healthcare system, was founded in December 1986 through the merger of Lynchburg General-Marshall Lodge Hospital (LGH) and Virginia Baptist Hospital (VBH). Southside Community Hospital (SCH) in Farmville joined in January 2006, as an affiliate.
Today, Centra includes 6,000 employees, a medical staff of 490, Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital and Centra Southside Community Hospital, health and rehabilitation centers, a regional cancer center and physician practices serving an area from Bedford to Farmville and from Nelson County to Danville. In addition, Centra's services include residential and outpatient mental health facilities, home health and hospice programs, mammography centers, a sleep disorders center and a center for wound care and hyperbaric medicine. A 27-member Board of Directors representing a cross section of the community governs Centra. The board includes eight physicians.
From the latest cancer-fighting technology to new state-of-the-art facilities and services, Centra offers excellent cancer care for patients and their families throughout central Virginia. Centra's comprehensive cancer services and treatments range from the newest da Vinci Surgical System and Trilogy linear accelerator to chemotherapy, biological and targeted drug therapies to genetic testing and clinical trials.
Centra treats a broad range of cancers, including lung, prostate, breast, brain, kidney, bladder, ovarian, lymphoma, leukemia, colon, uterine and rectal cancers as well as many others. In 2008, Centra opened the Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center, which brought radiation and medical oncology into one facility, for patient convenience.
Designed with cancer patients and their families in mind, the Centra Alan B. Pearson Regional Cancer Center combines a comprehensive array of services in a new center of hope and healing. A team of board-certified physicians and highly-skilled clinicians collaborates on personalized treatment plans for patients and supports them through every step of their cancer journeys. This team approach has earned Centra national recognition with a full accrediation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. In addition to radiation oncologists and medical oncologist, the multidisciplinary team includes a broad range of expertise from nurse practioners and nurses to clinical trials, patient navigators, social workers and chaplaincy staff.
Company History
Centra's Open Heart Surgery Program Ranked Among Nation's Best - September 2010
Consumer Reports reported on its web site that The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) has once again awarded Centra with its highest rating of three stars for its open heart surgery program at Centra Lynchburg General Hospital. Centra has received this award every year since its inception four years ago. The study results will be published in the October edition of Consumer Reports magazine.
According to Consumer Reports, Centra is among the top performing open heart surgery centers in this study and is the only hospital in the state of Virginia to receive this three-star ranking all four years.
Consumer Reports' web site states, "More than 90% of the approximately 1,100 US cardiac surgery programs participate in this registry." Those participating in this registry are hospitals that have chosen to make their data public with the goal of improving open heart surgery outcomes across the country.
"It is an honor to receive this award four years in a row," said David Frantz, M.D., Centra cardiothoracic surgeon. "We have known for a long time that we are delivering world-class heart surgery, and it is great for our patients and region to have that verified by STS."
The registry created by STS collects data from patients' charts in areas of outcome, including complications and death, severity of patients' preoperative illnesses, other existing conditions at the time of surgery, surgical technique used, and use of appropriate medications. STS gives one, two, and three star ratings based on 11 performance measurements endorsed by the National Quality Forum.
"Continuing to receive this rating is an assurance to our patients and the region we serve that when they choose Centra for heart care, they are getting the best the country has to offer," said Skip Meador, Centra vice president of cardiovascular and neurosciences.
Centra Lynchburg General Hospital is ranked as one of the nation's 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals, a distinction Centra has earned five times. Centra also has received certification by Joint Commission as an acute heart attack center and is accredited as a certified Chest Pain Center. At Centra, patients clogged arteries are consistently opened faster than the national gold standard of 90 minutes, and only six percent of hospitals in the country are able to achieve this.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Forbe's Safest Hospitals, Reuter's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals, Joint Commission's Primary Stroke Center Certification, American Hospital Assocaition's Top 100 Most Wired, Top 25 Most Wireless, Magnet Designiation for Excellence in Nursing!