Pillar Award

Pillar Award

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The Pillar Award application is now open until December 31, 2023!

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2023 Pillar Award Recipients

 

Emory University Hospital

Emory University Hospital is one of three hospitals within the Emory Healthcare system providing cardiac surgery and ECMO services in the Atlanta area.  The Perfusion team at Emory University Hospital prides itself on the wide range of surgeries and the complexity of those surgeries being done.  The Perfusion team’s core belief to better patient safety, patient outcomes, and team cohesiveness is teamwork.   Through the use of AmSECT protocols and guidelines along with site and surgeon specific protocols, the perfusion staff strive to provide the best care possible. 

The Perfusion team is honored to be awarded the AmSECT Pillar Award.  The award validates the team’s hard work in maintaining protocols, continued work in QA/QI initiatives, team education, and overall commitment to patient care.
 

Maine Medical Center

As the flagship hospital for MaineHealth and largest hospital in the state, Maine Medical Center is comprised of 700 beds which support some of the most complex cases in the region.  The Department of Perfusion Services at Maine Medical Center is a dedicated team of professionals comprised of unique skillsets with safety and innovation at the forefront for advancement of patient care.  As a team, they believe that as technology grows so should the quality, and more importantly the safety, of care to the patients.  The MMC Perfusion team is an important part of the Cardiovascular Service Line as a whole, and together their team-based approach allows them to deliver safe, high-quality care while adhering to the expected standards.  Through pragmatic, team-based initiatives, improvement of patient care algorithms, cultural safety, and patient outcomes are primary endpoints when measuring success.  The team strives for both novelty and excellence in a number of areas including orientation and training; compliance to and innovation of QA/QI processes; development of institutional protocols and adherence to AmSECT standards and guidelines.  The team is honored to accept the Pillar Award, and more importantly proud of the best-practice standard that is set for the patient population in New England.
 

Perfusion Management Group, Ltd. at Lancaster General Health

For over 30 years, Perfusion Management Group, Ltd. has provided perfusion and blood management services to Lancaster General Health. Under the direction of Mark Epler, MD and Tim Zellers, MSN,MBA, the Heart and Vascular Institute performs adult cardiac surgery including minimally invasive surgery, complex aortic surgery, TAVR and an active mechanical circulatory support program.

Adherence to evidence-based perfusion guidelines forms the basis of our  patient-centered practice to ensure quality outcomes. Development and integration of key performance indicators (KPI) within our electronic perfusion record monitors and alerts the perfusionists if KPIs are outside practice guidelines. AmSECT Standards form the basis of perfusion safety. Regular practice meetings reinforce discussion, collaboration and education. It is a privilege to receive the Pillar Award and distinction by AmSECT and perfusion community. 


2022 Pillar Award Recipients
 

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital

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The partnership created between Redline Perfusion and HCA North Florida Hospital has been invaluable to the provision of excellent perfusion care.  In just a few short years, we have seen a dramatic improvement in patient outcomes. We have embraced new technologies, worked with industry partners, and were early adopters of the current standards and guidelines recommendations from AmSECT.  We continually strive to promote continued learning and growth in both technical and non-technical skills, and as always, our shared commitment and focus is on patient safety and quality of care.  With the help of our administrators and multi-disciplinary cardiac team we are driven by a single mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
 

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford

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Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford (LPCH) is the pediatric and obstetric teaching hospital of Stanford Medicine. LPCH was the vision of Lucile Salter Packard. Her dream was simple: to nurture both the body and soul of every child. She believed in the power of nature as an important part of the healing process. She wanted kids to be treated like kids — not just patients. And she believed that caring for a child meant involving the whole family. Stanford Children’s Health honors that vision through our dedication in delivering innovative services and unparalleled family-centered-careVision statementTo heal humanity through science and compassion, one child and family at a time. 

Our perfusion team uses this vision to guide our practice. We provide cardiopulmonary support, lead the education and competency of ECMO and support the MCS program at LPCH.  We are grateful for our surgeons, anesthesiologists, physician assistants, nurses and ICU providers who collectively create a collaborative environment from which to learn, improve and innovate. As a recipient of the Pillar Award, we are motivated to maintain our standard and focus on department activities to further advance our profession
 

Massachusetts General Hospital 

The Perfusion team at Massachusetts General Hospital is dedicated to providing the most innovative and patient-centered care for patients undergoing extracorporeal support.  In a professional and fiscally responsible manner, the perfusionists embrace evidence-based practice, academic excellence and patient safety in order to achieve the highest quality outcomes.

Adhering to the most up to date guidelines and recommendations of the American Society of Extra-corporeal Technology (AmSECT) is ingrained in the perfusion team. The team is provided with appropriate checklists for every case and mechanical device scenario to ensure safety and quality care. The “n+1” staffing model is utilized at all times, where “n” equals the number of perfusionists providing life support at any given time, or as deemed appropriate on a situational basis by the on-call perfusionist and/or Director of Perfusion Services. This ensures each patient at Massachusetts General Hospital receives safe and top-quality care.
 

Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

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Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Pediatric Perfusion Team includes 6 perfusionists and a business process manager.  We are dedicated to serving each patient with safe and quality care in hopes of providing them new opportunities.  In addition, we are vested in the future of our profession by serving as clinical education site for students.  As a team, we have worked to develop our standards and guidelines with a focus on meeting or exceeding the AmSECT Standards and Guidelines in both pediatric and adult cardiac perfusion management.  We have worked to incorporate quality measures within our practice through the collaboration and support of our cardiac surgeons: Dr. David Bichell, Dr. Karla Christian, and Dr. Nhue Do.  Our growth in quality measures would not be possible without the collaboration and resourceful critical thinking of our critical care and anesthesia colleagues who challenge us and support us in our quest to provide quality perfusion management.   The pillar award is not only a reflection of the dedication, hard work, and continual improvement efforts of the pediatric perfusion team but also of the collaborative support received from our administration, cardiac surgeons, cardiac anesthesiologists, cardiac operating room team, mechanical support teams and critical care team.  As a collaborative group, we have evoked and embraced change using medical evidence, experience, and the desire to provide the best safest care to our patients. 

We describe ourselves as a team strengthened by cohesioniveness, integrity, collaboration, accountability and resilience while being supported by a uniquely diverse network of professionals dedicated to each cardiac patient.  The Mission Statement of our team is the following: “Work collaboratively to put the patient FIRST in everything we do, while promoting the development and utilizing the unique strengths of each team member to inspire evolvement within Pediatric Perfusion.”  We are focused on continuous quality improvement measures to ensure that we are providing the best care available to our patient population each and every pump run. We are committed to providing excellence in all aspects of patient care as well as the development and promotion of our profession that has given us the opportunity to be recognized.  We are honored to be a recipient of the AmSECT Pillar Award. 

 


 

2021 Pillar Award Recipients

 

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

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Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is situated in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The Roanoke campus includes the Virginia Tech Carilion Medical School and Research Institute. Since 1982 Roanoke Memorial has offered Cardiothoracic Surgery and now, with the creation of the Cardiovascular Institute, considers it one of their signature services. Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital is in the process of building a new 400,000 sq.ft. tower to house the Cardiovascular Institute.

Our staff of five perfusionists has always been committed to delivering the highest quality of care possible while following our mission statement - to improve the health of the communities we serve. The perfusion team by promoting cohesiveness and open communication with a mutual respect for one another sets an example for teamwork. Our strongest attribute is the ability to evaluate, embrace and implement change utilizing evidence-based medicine and goal directed perfusion. We fully believe in a coherent QC/QI program monitored by peer review. We are grateful for a supportive administration.

We are very pleased and honored to be a recipient of the AmSECT Pillar Award. It brings well deserved attention and appreciation within our hospital to an incredibly dedicated team.
 

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

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The Perfusion Department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is a team dedicated to providing safe and quality care to every patient, from the tiniest neonate up to the adult congenital patient. Within our institution we are not only responsible for conducting cardiopulmonary bypass in the operating room but also for managing ventricular assist devices and for cardiac ECMO support. In addition, we currently serve as a clinical affiliate for three perfusion education programs.

Our team recognizes the important role we play in the outcome of our patients.  As a result, our department is always looking for ways to optimize patient care- through continuing education, research, as well as quality assurance and quality improvement programs.  We also take great pride in being heavily involved in professional societies and contributing to the advancement of the pediatric perfusion knowledge base.

The Pillar Award is a reflection of our dedication to the field of cardiovascular perfusion and to the great responsibilities of the profession. We are committed to demonstrating continued excellence because we know that is what our patients and their families deserve.
 

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

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The Department of Cardiovascular Perfusion at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is composed of eight hard working perfusionist dedicated to our patients, our institution, and our profession. The team’s ongoing commitment to practice performance evaluation, quality assurance, and practice improvement has helped us develop into a strong, team led department. A focus on practice, guided by AmSECT’s Standards and Guidelines for Pediatric Perfusion, has steered us toward our successful application for the Pillar Award. While this award is a great honor for our department, it would not have been achieved without the significant support provided CCHMC’s Heart Institute Leadership. James Tweddell, Andrew Redington, and Mark McDonald provide exemplary leadership, financial, and clinical support to our department. Without those resources and alignment with CCHMC’s institutional values and mission, it would not have been possible to achieve this recognition. We would like to thank those individuals responsible for developing and launching the Pillar Award, both those known and those behind the scenes.

Thank you,

Braley Hendrix
Jim Reagor
Leslie Gonzalez
Rob Ferguson
Sean Clingan
Shelly Walters
Tom Klein
Zach Wilkes
 

Duke University Hospital

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Duke Perfusion Services provides superior patient care to over 3000 patients a year while cultivating a culture of teamwork, safety, integrity, diversity, and innovation. Duke Perfusion is one of the largest perfusion teams in the country. Scope of practice includes cardiopulmonary bypass, extracorporeal support, mechanical circulatory support, and autotransfusion for adult and pediatric patients.  Areas of expertise include major aortic surgery, advanced heart failure, heart and lung transplantation, minimally invasive and robotic surgery, blood conservation, surgical oncology, and complex congenital surgery. Duke Perfusion supports OCS/Transmedics heart procurements, inter-hospital ECMO and VAD transports, and intraoperative apheresis. The Duke Perfusion Team is devoted to our community providing perfusion services for Duke Regional Hospital and engaging in multiple outreach and service initiatives each year. 

Duke Perfusionists are committed to advancing the profession through leadership in education, quality, research, and collaboration.  Duke Perfusion Faculty are clinical instructors affiliated with four perfusion schools and host over twenty perfusion students each year from Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), State University of New York Upstate Medical College (SUNY), Midwestern University, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Perfusion student rotations include both adult and pediatric perfusion as well as a specialized ECMO elective. The department hosts many courses and trainings including high fidelity simulation. The team is active in clinical, laboratory, and animal research, routinely presents regionally, nationally, and internationally in addition to being widely published. Perfusion Faculty are active members in professional societies such as NCSP, AmSECT, AACP, ELSO, ASAIO, ISHLT, AATS and STS.
 

Mayo Clinic

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The Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) Perfusion team consists of 23 perfusionists who support 3,500+ cardiovascular surgery cases and care for over 100 ECMO patients annually. The team provides care for the neonate to adult populations and performs a wide variety of cases including congenital corrections, heart and lung transplants, VAD insertions, and complex aortic procedures. Outside of operating the heart-lung machine the group has active roles in HIPEC/HILPs, veno-venous liver bypass, AngioVac, and inter-hospital transport of critically ill patients.

The AmSECT Pillar Award highlights a perfusion groups’ organization, safety, training, dedication to quality improvement, and commitment to the field of cardiovascular perfusion. Every member of our perfusion group believes in these values and works together as a team to achieve them. It is an honor to receive the AmSECT Pillar Award because it shows that the hard work the team puts in every day is being supported and recognized by our national society and perfusion community. We hope that in the future more perfusion groups will strive to achieve this prestigious award.
 

Nationwide Children's Hospital

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital perfusion department consists of 6 Perfusionists, 3 ECMO Coordinators and robust bedside ECMO and MCS teams. Our team has been working toward standardization of perfusion practices within our team for five years.  We have an advanced Quality & Safety program that begins with a highly technical electronic medical record that incorporates safety alerts in real-time for the Perfusionist. At the end of each case, the primary Perfusionist receives a compliance report that evaluates the adherence to our protocol ranges for clinical practices. Monthly, we review our performance as a team, with the ultimate goal of standardized practices among our team. Our ECMO team is working toward decreasing the time from activation to initiating ECMO support. The leadership team meets to review each activation and implement process measure interventions to continue decreasing our time as an institution. These are just a few Quality and Safety initiatives within our department.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Perfusion team’s Mission Statement states: working together as a team, we will achieve the Safest and Best Outcomes by utilizing current equipment, techniques and medical knowledge. This pillar award validates the hard work our team has put into becoming a preeminent center for Cardiovascular Perfusion. We are honored to be part of AmSECT and humbled to receive this award.