Pillar Award Recipients

Billings Clinic

Billings Clinic is Montana’s largest independent health care system serving Montana, Wyoming, and the western Dakotas. Billings Clinic Hospital is an integrated multi-specialty group practice with a 336-bed hospital and the regions only Level I Trauma Center. Billings Clinic cardiovascular surgery team performs some of the most complex cases in the region. The perfusion service at Billings clinic comprises a group of highly skilled clinicians focused on our mission of Health Care, Education, and Research.

As a team, we believe in perpetual learning, and implementation of the newest and most up to date technologies and practices to provide our patients with the most advanced and best care. We strive to collaborate as a team, with the help and support of our surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, to advance our practice and create patient driven care. As a group we are excited and honored to accept the AmSect Pillar Award. Our team believes that through development and implementation of institutional protocols and guidelines that adhere to or exceed AmSect’s standards and guidelines we have been able to meet our vision and provide best in nation quality, patient safety, service, and value to our community. The team also believes that being Pillar Award recipients has helped forward our mission in providing education and has allowed us to help train the next generation of perfusionists, providing them with skills necessary to provide the highest level of patient care possible.

Kentucky Children's Hospital

At Kentucky Children’s Hospital, we provide care that has been recognized as among the best in the nation. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report honored our pediatric heart program with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, our pediatric orthopedics program with Shriners Hospital and our pediatric urology program as some of the country’s top programs. These rankings demonstrate our dedication to providing the best care possible to children of the Commonwealth.

Our team consists of 3 highly experienced perfusionists, with a commitment to best practices and quality improvement. While our team is always looking for improvement as a department, we strive to be a leading driver for advances in quality, safety, and value for the hospital and the Joint Pediatric Heart Care Program with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

We thank AmSECT for selecting us for the Pillar Award this year and wish to thank the leadership groups in Kentucky and Cincinnati for their support.

Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

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 six perfusionists are 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 for our second term. It brings well deserved attention and appreciation within our hospital to an incredibly dedicated team.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

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

Our CCHMC perfusion team is honored to continue to be recognized as a Pillar Award recipient. We strive for excellence for every patient, and this is one example of how this team continues to push that effort forward. Each member of this team is an integral part of ensuring we live up to and exceed the standard of care set by AmSECT and our peers for the practice of perfusion.

Duke University Hospital

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.

Nationwide Children's Hospital

The Cardiovascular Perfusion Department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital consists of Perfusionists, MCS/ECMO Coordinators as well as a sizable bedside MCS/ECMO team. The team works seamlessly to provide exceptional care for congenital heart disease patients from womb to adult. In addition, the cardiovascular perfusion department provides care to various non-cardiac patient populations across the state, nation and world. Our team continually identifies and increases our roles and responsibilities within the hospital and collaborative with sister hospitals.

We have an ever-advancing quality & safety program that has a foundation in AmSECT’s Standards and Guidelines as well as an electronic perfusion/MCS/ECMO record that incorporates safety alerts in real-time for not only the Perfusionist but the MCS/ECMO bedside team as well. In an effort to enhance the NCH cardiovascular perfusion department’s quality and safety program, a Quality Strategist, who specializes in clinical outcomes, has been engaged to assist the team. The perfusion department has representatives that hold positions on both the hospital’s and The Heart Center’s quality and safety committees. The department is heavily involved with many of our professional societies with some members holding board and committee seats with AmSECT.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital Perfusion team’s Mission Statement: Working and supporting one another as a team, we will achieve the safest and best patient outcomes by embracing education, training and growth all while utilizing current equipment, novel techniques and medical knowledge. This pillar award validates the hard work our team has put into becoming a respected center for Cardiovascular Perfusion. We are honored to be part of AmSECT, proud of the team’s efforts and are humbled to receive this award.

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.

HCA Florida North Florida Hospital

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

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-care. Vision statement: To 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

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.