Silver Cross Outpatient Heart and Vascular Center Now Open

Patients requiring relatively minor heart and vascular procedures now have access to the all-new outpatient Heart and Vascular Center on the campus of Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. The first-of-its kind center at Silver Cross is located on the second floor of the Silver Cross Procedure Center at 678 Cedar Crossings Drive, on the east side of the hospital campus. The center, which opened Oct. 1, promises added comfort and convenience for patients. 

The location was previously called the Silver Cross Endoscopy Center, and endoscopy services remain on the first floor for upper and lower endoscopy services, including colonoscopy. But it has been renamed the Procedure Center to alleviate confusion for patients seeking heart and vascular services on the building’s second floor.  

“Now, select heart/vascular patients can have the same outpatient procedures performed by the same doctors and staff from our main hospital in a much more relaxed setting,” said Katie Lowe, Clinical Director of Cardiology. 

The center also promises easier scheduling and access for both patients and physicians performing procedures. 

“With a separate facility for outpatient procedures, patients will also have less exposure to hospital-acquired infections,” Lowe said. “We always put patient safety above everything else.” 

Quicker Recovery for Cardiac Patients

The new Heart and Vascular Center offers a variety of treatments, including minimally invasive interventional radiology procedures such as paracentesis, port insertion and removal and other ultrasound-guided procedures; cardiac catheterizations; and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), one of the most commonly performed cardiac procedures done to open obstructed coronary arteries. 

What’s more, patients undergoing cardiac catheterizations and interventions will have them via radial-artery approach versus the femoral artery in the groin. That means minimal post-procedure bleeding, fewer complications, faster recovery and added patient comfort. 

Growing Heart Volume

In addition to interventional procedures, The Midwest Institute for Heart at Silver Cross offers diagnostic testing, open heart surgery and structural heart procedures, including minimally invasive valve replacement, and cardiac rehabilitation. 

Silver Cross celebrated its fifth anniversary of open heart surgery earlier this year, and in just five years, the program is not only ranked among the nation’s best for quality and patient outcomes, it’s also among the five busiest heart programs in the State of Illinois. 

With a growing number of patients requiring heart procedures at Silver Cross, the Heart and Vascular Center allows patients at minimal risk of complications the option of having their procedures in a more convenient and relaxed setting outside of the hospital. 

Lowe added, “As well as providing a more comfortable atmosphere for outpatient heart/vascular procedures, the new center also frees up resources in the main hospital for more acute (and emergent) heart care cases.” 

The Silver Cross Heart and Vascular Center follows the guidelines of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. To ensure patient safety and excellent outcomes, appropriate patient selection is key. The center also performs thorough pre- and post-procedural assessments. 

If a patient requires a higher level of care after a procedure, he or she will be referred or transported to the hospital. The Heart and Vascular Center also maintains the same safety and quality metrics as the main hospital’s Interventional and Cardiac Catheterization Labs, including participation in the American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry. 

“This is just another way that Silver Cross strives to get our patients and the community back to heart health,” Lowe added. 

To learn more about the new Silver Cross Heart and Vascular Center, visit silvercross.org.