Mercy Medical Center Redding and Stanford Health Care Join Together to Transform Cardiac Surgical Care in the North State
REDDING, Calif. (Oct. 21, 2020) --- Mercy Medical Center Redding is pleased to announce a new affiliation with Stanford Health Care and the Stanford University School of Medicine’s Cardiothoracic Surgery Department to establish Stanford Cardiac Surgery in affiliation with The Mercy Redding Heart Center to provide a comprehensive range of heart care services to patients in Redding and surrounding areas.
“This affiliation brings world-renowned academic medical center expertise in heart surgery to the North State,” said Todd Smith, President and CEO of Mercy Medical Center Redding. “Patients will no longer need to leave our community to access leading edge cardiac surgery.”
The Mercy Redding Heart Center will offer specialized cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures including coronary artery bypass graph surgery, cardiac valve surgery, abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery, adult congenital cardiac surgery, off pump beating heart surgery.
Stanford cardiothoracic surgeons John Chen, MD, and Eric Keyser, MD, will both live and work in Redding and provide 24/7 cardiac surgery coverage. Together, these two Stanford surgeons bring over 50 years of combined cardiac expertise to the Redding community.
Both surgeons will also maintain their Stanford faculty affiliations: Dr. Chen as faculty of the Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Dr. Keyser as a clinical associate professor of the Stanford Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery. (For more background on Drs. Chen and Keyser, please see bios below.)
In addition to Stanford cardiothoracic surgeons, The Mercy Redding Heart Center also houses the region’s only dedicated cardiac surgery ICU, the area’s only electrophysiologist, the region’s most advanced technology in its two newly-renovated cath labs, and the continuing expertise and guidance of local cardiologists who have played an integral role in the development of this program.
From heart disease education and prevention to advanced diagnosis, and from interventional and surgical procedures to rehabilitative care, The Mercy Redding Heart Center will offer the most comprehensive continuum of care in the North State.
“Last year, almost 200 cardiac patients left the Redding area to access heart surgery,” said Rosa Vicente-Soito, Director of Cardiac Service Line at Mercy Medical Center Redding. “This partnership means that patients will no longer have to leave our community—or the support of family and friends—to access world-class heart surgery performed by academic-affiliated surgeons.”
About Mercy Medical Center Redding
Mercy Medical Center Redding (“MMCR”) is a 267-bed hospital sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of Auburn, along with St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff and Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta. Our goal is to promote healing and wellness as well as to advocate for the poor. We deliver compassionate, high-quality health care to the people of the greater Redding area and surrounding North State communities.
MMCR has received the National Research Corporation’s Consumer Choice Award for eight consecutive years. Additionally, Mercy Medical Center Redding was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report for high performance in all five areas of adult treatment, including knee and hip replacement, heart failure, bypass surgery and pulmonary disease. MMCR has also been honored by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for our stroke program. MMCR is also recognized as a STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction) Receiving Center.
Mercy Medical Center Redding is part of CommonSpirit Health—one of the nation’s largest health care systems with more than 142 hospitals in 21 states.
About Stanford Health Care
Stanford Health Care is known worldwide for advanced treatment of complex disorders in areas such as cardiac care, cancer treatment, neurosciences, surgery, and organ transplants. A worldwide destination for quality care, Stanford continues to be recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top-ranked hospital. Stanford ranks #13 in the U.S. News Best Hospital rankings, #9 in the nation for Cardiology and Heart Surgery programs, and proudly ranked #1 for Cardiology & Heart Surgery in Northern California by U.S. News & World Report. Additionally, Stanford is nationally ranked in Vizient’s top 8 for quality and safety. Stanford Health Care is internationally recognized for translating medical breakthroughs into the care of patients. The Hospital is part of the Stanford University Medical Center, along with the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford.
About Stanford Cardiothoracic Surgery Department
Today’s cardiac surgeons at Stanford continue to extend this tradition of excellence with pioneering innovations in complex valve repair, minimally invasive and robotic operations, beating-heart surgery, hybrid aortic reconstruction, arrhythmia operations, triple-organ transplantation, novel artificial heart and lung devices, and stem cell therapy to repair and regenerate the heart.
Stanford is able to leverage a series of “firsts,” including the first heart transplant in the US, the first heart-lung transplant in the world, and one of the first left ventricular assist device (LVAD) procedures in the world. Stanford dominates the market in programs involving a high percentage of complex procedures. Several of Stanford’s most successful cardiac programs have a broad geographical base, with over 20% of the volume for heart transplants, aorta and valve procedures coming from outside the Bay Area. Stanford also has a strong international cardiac market with cardiac patients representing more than 50% of overall international business.
About John Chen, MD
Dr. Chen attended medical school at Temple University in Philadelphia, and did his residency in General Surgery at Harbor-UCLA, and Cardiothoracic Surgery at UC San Francisco. After completing residency, Dr. Chen’s first academic appointment was that of Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of California at Irvine. In 199, he was recruited to be Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Hawaii Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, and Clinical Professor at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine. He has served as Governor and Member of the Advisory Council for Cardiothoracic Surgery for the American College of Surgeons, and is also past president of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association.
About Eric Keyser, MD
Dr. Keyser studied physics and physiology as an undergraduate, and experimental surgery for his Master’s degree at McGill University. He completed his medical degree and residency in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at McGill University. Dr. Keyser is an attending surgeon at Mercy Medical Center Redding. His past experience has included Medical Director of Dignity Health Medical Foundation, Shasta County, California, and Clinical Assistant Professor in Stanford University School of Medicine’s Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Publish date:
Wednesday, October 21, 2020