MercyOne Pediatric Heart Surgery Program

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This post is sponsored by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center

mercyone pediatric heart surgeryIf you happen to walk through the Pediatric or Pediatric Intensive Care Units at MercyOne Children’s Hospital, you might see some young patients wearing strands of colorful beads. They are Beads of Courage, and they help children around the world share their own stories of courage during treatment for serious illness.

Staff at MercyOne and Pediatric Cardiology start each patient with their strand and a prescription card, which documents each reason – including blood draw, clinic visit, test/scan, etc. – a child may receive a bead. Each of the special beads is made with safe, quality materials.

Beads of Courage has been available to hospitals nationally and internationally since 2005. MercyOne Children’s Hospital is the first pediatric hospital in central Iowa with this special program for pediatric heart patients. One patient who has benefitted is Caysen Eigenheer. Caysen’s parents, Lisa and Cody, said the program has helped them celebrate milestones as Caysen’s “broken heart” is repaired. Learn more about their story below.

Earlier this spring, the pediatric heart surgery program at MercyOne Children’s Hospital achieved a mortality rate of one percent, which is approximately one-third of the national average. The rate, calculated by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, was determined by data from July 2014 to June 2018, and from 118 national pediatric cardiovascular surgery programs. The Society’s national mortality rating is 2.9 percent. The criteria is based on Society of Thoracic Surgeons – European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (STAT) categories, which group procedures with similar mortality risks in increasing order from one to five.

MercyOne Children’s Hospital is one of two Iowa hospitals included in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database. The MercyOne team performs the highest volume of pediatric cardiac surgeries in the state, conducting 140 surgical cases annually. Additionally, it has maintained the highest survival average and highest case mix index among Iowa’s children’s hospitals since it began reporting in 2014.

mercyone pediatric heart surgery teamThe MercyOne Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Program team is led by David Hockmuth, M.D., Iowa’s only board-certified congenital heart surgeon (pediatric and adult). He is the state’s longest-practicing pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, with 27 years of service at MercyOne Des Moines and Iowa Heart Center. The team of pediatric cardiologists is led by Thomas Becker, M.D., and the pediatric critical care team is led by Jessica Zuzga-Reed, D.O., medical director of MercyOne Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. In addition, they are supported by a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week team that includes pediatric cardiac perfusionists, anesthesiologists and nurses.

If you would like to help support this program, MercyOne is looking for volunteers to make fabric bags for the children to store their beads and strands. To find out more, please contact Ashley Sunderman at [email protected].

Connect with MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center

Website: MercyOne.org/desmoines

Twitter: @MercyOneDSM

Facebook: @mercyonedesmoines

Instagram: @mercyonedesmoines

Pinterest: @MercyOneDesMoines


The post is part of a series of sponsored posts by MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center.

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