Cardiovascular Program at Butler Memorial reaches 25 years

BUTLER TWP — Butler Memorial Hospital reached a milestone this month as its nationally recognized cardiovascular program celebrates 25 years.

Dr. George Davliakos, medical director of cardiothoracic surgery, performed the first open-heart procedure at Butler Memorial in 1998. The program and medical technology continue to evolve.

Before the hospital began performing cardiovascular procedures, patients had to wait for potentially lifesaving services or travel long distances for care. According to Independence Health System, the need for cardiovascular care north of Pittsburgh led the hospital to establish its own center.

After a community needs assessment showed that a lot of patients in the area had a higher-than-average risk of heart disease, it became clear that a cardiovascular program was needed in the area, Davliakos said July 17.

“We had to improve the outcomes of people with heart disease,” he said.

Donna Millard, 63, of Mercer County, underwent a convergent heart ablation under the care of Davliakos in 2022. Previously, she had undergone two other ablations at UPMC Passavant that had not been successful, she said.

Millard said she found out about the heart procedure offered at Butler Memorial after reading about it in the then Butler Health System’s HealthLink newsletter and referred herself. Hospitals in Grove City do not have a cardiovascular program, she said.

“So far, I’m very pleased,” she said. “I’ve been doing great.”

If the need arose, Millard said she would choose to undergo further care at Butler Memorial.

“They were able to provide all the care I needed,” she said.

Her twin sister underwent the same procedure at Butler Memorial July 20 after Millard recommended it, she said.

“The program’s been building as we’ve had positive results,” said Ryan Leonberg, a physician assistant who worked as a team lead on Millard’s surgery.

He added that for many patients, the ability to access cardiovascular care close to home in Butler County helps them recover.

“People who work here also live in this community,” he said. “A lot of times, you come across people you’re going to be taking care of, which is nice because that helps them. It’s a familiar face.”

Collaboration is integral to Butler Memorial’s cardiovascular program, and patient care is coordinated between surgeons, primary doctors and cardiologists, Leonberg said.

With a support staff made up of doctors, nurses, technicians, physical therapists and more, the program affects many other facets of patient care, Davliakos said.

Having a surgical team in place at the hospital allows cardiologists to provide more services, provide cardiac stents in emergencies and heart support devices, he said.

“Having a surgical program as a backup allows our other physicians to do more,” Davliakos said. He said hospital staff regularly review the quality of the program to ensure it keeps up with the need for services.

Twenty-five years ago there was some sense that community hospitals should not be performing open heart surgery, despite data indicating it could be done very safely, said Ken DeFurio, CEO of Independence Health System, who joined Butler Memorial in 1989 and became part of the administrative staff of the then Butler Health System in 1996. Butler Health System merged with Excela Health on Jan. 1 and announced in May the system’s new name.

DeFurio said the cardiovascular program is now a bedrock of patient care. The procedures and methods that were performed at the start of the program have continued to develop over time, he said.

“We are perfecting procedures that weren’t even conceived of 25 years ago,” DeFurio said.

According to Independence Health, the program has provided screenings, prevention, treatment, cardiac rehabilitation and surgical interventions since its inception and has seen upward of 8,300 cardiac cases and provided more than 8,600 thoracic and vascular procedures during the past 25 years.

“Some of our surgeries have evolved to less invasive procedures,” Davliakos said. He noted that procedures like valve replacement and open heart surgeries now have more rapid recovery times.

Davliakos said he hopes the program will continue to grow with better technology, better medical care and improved awareness of risk factors. The best thing that could come out of the program would be if it leads to a reduced need for heart surgery, he said.

Davliakos said heart disease trends — compounded by general risk factors including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and use of tobacco products — are improving with better care and more awareness.

“We know cardiovascular disease continues to be highest-incident disease and highest risk in terms of health outcomes,” DeFurio said.

With an aging demographic in the region, DeFurio said he hopes the program will expand in the future.