Mary Washington Hospital Opens New Cardiac Labs In Fredericksburg

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Mary Washington Hospital held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening Wednesday afternoon for two newly constructed electrophysiology labs and two redesigned cardiac catheterization labs. The $12 million project started about five years ago when hospital officials started traveling to facilities across the country to determine the best way to design and equip their new cath labs and electrophysiology labs.

The new labs, located on the second floor of Mary Washington Hospital, are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and designed to accommodate the larger, multi-disciplinary medical teams and imaging systems required for complex cardiac cases. The rebuilt cath labs are about 650 square feet in size.

Dr. Zeshan Rana, an interventional cardiologist and director of cardiac catheterization at Mary Washington Hospital, expressed pride in how the cardiac unit has improved in the nine years he has worked at the hospital. The upgraded facilities, with an advanced level of cardiac care, are a "completely different world" than when he began working at the hospital, Rana said in remarks at Wednesday's ceremony.

The state-of-the-art technology will attract top talent to work at the hospital, Rana said. The improved facilities also mean Mary Washington Hospital will no longer need to send patients to either Richmond or Washington, D.C. to receive high-level cardiac care, he added.

Cath labs are examination rooms in hospitals and clinics with diagnostic imaging equipment used to visualize the arteries of the heart and the chambers of the heart and treat any stenosis or abnormality found. Electrophysiology labs treat the electrical issues of the heart, particularly cardiac ablations and pacemaker implants.

Dr. Ashok Talreja, director of electrophysiology at the hospital, said the hospital's cardiac labs now have state-of-the-art technology that match any other hospital in the country. The field of cardiology, however, is quickly evolving. "I'm pretty sure that what we'll be doing five years in the future is going to be very different than what we’re doing now," Talreja said.

Mary Washington Hospital, part of the Mary Washington Healthcare system, provides cardiac services, including diagnostic testing, interventional catheterization and electrophysiology procedures, an advanced structural heart program, cardiovascular surgery, heart failure treatment, and cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.

In 2019, Mary Washington Hospital was named one of the nation's 50 top cardiovascular hospitals by IBM Watson Health, a business unit of IBM, for the second year in a row. The study seeks to find the top-performing cardiovascular hospitals in the U.S. based on a balanced scorecard of publicly available clinical, operational and patient satisfaction metrics and data.

Mary Washington Healthcare is a regional nonprofit medical system that provides inpatient and outpatient care at more than 50 facilities and services, including Mary Washington Hospital, a 451-bed regional medical center, and Stafford Hospital, a 100-bed community hospital.

Patients seeking cardiac treatment can choose between Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg and Stafford Hospital in Stafford County, both of which are owned by Mary Washington Healthcare and provide comprehensive care to patients suffering from heart problems.

At Wednesday's ceremony, Kerry Devine, a City of Fredericksburg council member, said the high quality of services provided at Mary Washington Hospital is a selling point for businesses and residents who are considering relocating to the Fredericksburg area.

"It’s so important that we are taking care of people locally without having to travel somewhere else, to be close to family and friends and have people feel a little more comfortable at very tense moments of their lives," Devine said. "So, we really are excited about the new labs."