Cardiovascular Services:  Center for Heart Disease

The nurses in the Cardiovascular Services department are the core group within the Center for Heart Disease and is comprised of three RN’s, one of whom is a Clinical Nurse Specialist and another who serves as the Assistant Divisional Director of the Center for Heart Disease. 

The Cath Lab is staffed by eight full time nurses and three holding area nurses.  More than 2,900 patients were seen last year and more that 10,700 diagnostic procedures were   performed, as well as almost 1,200  interventional procedures. 

Nurses who work in the procedure labs rotate call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Although most of the nurses currently working in the Cath Lab have many years of critical care experience, the current requirements for nurses applying to work in the Cath Lab include a minimum of one year of critical care experience.   

The Cath Lab Holding area nurses work a variety of shifts from 6am-10pm (starting this spring) Monday through Friday.  The duties of the staff in the holding area include admitting patients prior to their procedures and recovering outpatients after procedures.  The staff’s focus is providing excellent customer service and that commitment is reflected in patient satisfaction scores.