Franciscan St. Francis Health physicians among U.S. News ‘Top Doctors’ list

INDIANAPOLIS – More than 30 Franciscan St. Francis Health physicians have been singled out by U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s annual “Top Doctors” listing.

The Top Doctors list was compiled with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., publisher of America’s Top Doctors, among other consumer health guides. Nominations came from physicians in academic medical centers and private practices, specialty hospitals and regional hospitals.

Castle Connolly’s physician-led research team reviewed each nominee’s training, achievements and appointments, along with other credentials.

U.S. News Media Group provides a free searchable directory available at www.usnews.com/top-doctors that lists nearly 30,000 peer-nominated physicians across the country.

Franciscan St. Francis physicians and their specialties include:

Richard Beardsley (family medicine)

William Berg (interventional cardiology)

Michael Elmore (gastroenterology)

Erica Eugster (pediatric endocrinology)

Thomas Fairchild (otolaryngology)

Jack Farr II (orthopedic surgery)

Peter Garrett (radiation oncology)

Marc Gerdisch M.D. (thoracic surgery)

Charles Hughes III (plastic surgery)

Denise Johnson Miller (surgeon)

Martin Kaefer (urology)

Baron Kidd (pediatrics)

Robert Kinn M.D. (cardiac electrophysiology)

Charles Kinsella (pulmonology)

Frederick Lane (colon and rectal surgery)

G. Todd Lemmel (gastroenterology)

S. Chase Lottich (surgeon)

Jonathan Mandelbaum (surgeon)

Mary Lou Mayer (medical oncology)

David Moore, M.D.  (gynecologic cancer)

Dan Nordmann (pain management)

Jeffrey Peterson (family medicine)

David Pound (gastroenterology)

Ana Priscu (endocrinology)

Dawn Salvatore (vascular surgeon)

Juan Sanchez (pediatric endocrinology)

Bridget Sanders (colon and rectal surgery)

Richard Shea (cardiologist)

Barbara Sturm (dermatology)

James Thompson (medical oncology)

Jan Jansen (hematology)

Olaf Johansen (colon and rectal cancer)

Jeffery Pierson (orthopedic surgery)

G. Alan Von Stein M.D (obstetrics/gynecology)

U.S. News Media Group provides a free searchable directory available at www.usnews.com/top-doctors that lists nearly 30,000 peer-nominated physicians across the country.

More than 1,000 physicians are employed or have practice privileges at Franciscan St. Francis’ hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville.

Nearly 170 physicians are members of St. Francis Medical Group, a multidisciplinary team practicing in 46 groups throughout central Indiana. These physicians offer a variety of primary care and specialty care services and all practice at Franciscan St. Francis Health.

To learn more about St. Francis Medical Group, go to www.stfrancisdoctors.org.

St. Francis surgeon, volunteers honored as ‘Heroes’ by business magazine

INDIANAPOLIS – A St. Francis cardiothoracic surgeon who pioneered the use of new technology to repair inner heart tissue and 10 volunteers who help families that have lost babies have been singled out by the Indianapolis Business Journal as "Health Care Heroes."
That recognition came today (March 5) at a ceremony/breakfast at the Conrad Indianapolis sponsored by IBJ.

Marc Gerdisch, M.D., was the winner in the Advancements in Health Category. He was cited for his work, advancing heart valve surgery through the use of Extracellular Matrix to modify and repair cardiac structures. The CorMatrix ECM is a unique biomaterial that harnesses the body’s innate ability to repair damaged heart tissue. Over time, it is replaced by the patients’ own tissue.

Gerdisch was the first in the world to perform procedures using the ECM inside the human heart. He is director of cardiothoracic surgery at the St. Francis Heart Center, a partner at Cardiac Surgery Associates, and co-director of the St. Francis Heart Valve Center.

Volunteers for the St. Francis Caring Companions program also were selected as finalists in the Volunteer category. They are: Anna Schmitt, Becky Cassenelli, Marian Diaz-Soto, Linzi Horsley, Christine Davis, Shalome Frye, Melanie Collings, Mary Mouradian, Teresa Kirchoff and Julie Jackson.

The purpose of Caring Companions is to support families at the time of miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death. After becoming trained as certified Resolve Through Sharing caregivers, the women operate on 24-hour call schedule. When they are notified of an infant’s death, one or two Companions arrive at the hospital to provide support to the families sharing with them their own experiences of loss and hope.

The volunteers also help coordinate events that are so important to the ongoing healing process, such as Walk to Remember, Christmas Memorial, Infant Memorial service and Parents' Day.

This year’s recipients join other St. Francis-affiliated employees and programs recognized in the past as IBJ Health Care Heroes:

• John McIntyre, Ph.D. (finalist, 2009 and 2001)
• St. Francis Cord Blood Donation program (finalist, 2008)
• Jan Gaddis, R.N. (winner, 2006)
• Horace "Buzz" Hickman, M.D. (finalist, 2004)
• Carolyn Davis, R.N. (winner, 2002)
• Marcia Jenkins, R.N. (finalist, 2001).

To learn more about Gerdisch’s work visit http://www.cardiactissuerepair.net/. More information about St. Francis Caring Companions is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/women/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=103.

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Physician establishes practice with St. Francis Hospital cardiology group

INDIANAPOLIS – Sunil S. Advani, M.D., has established a new practice with the Indiana Heart Physicians at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.

Advani most recently was affiliated with Clinical Cardiovascular Specialists at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and was an investigator with the MidWest Cardiology Research Foundation.

He has wide experience and completed fellowships in interventional cardiology and adult cardiovascular disease (The Ohio State University Medical Center), peripheral vascular intervention (Lindner Center of Christ Hospital) and adult congenital heart disease (Columbus Children’s Hospital).

Advani is board-certified in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine and pediatrics and has extensive training in interventional cardiology and cardiac imaging. He has been an active investigator in clinical trials and has been widely published in professional journals.

A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Advani completed a combined medicine/pediatrics residencies at the OSU Medical Center and Columbus Children’s Hospital.

He earned various academic honors, including memberships in Alpha Omega Alpha (Ohio State) and Phi Beta Kappa (Duke University).

IHP was established in 1978 under the direction of H.O. “Buzz” Hickman, M.D. In addition to its long-established relationship with St. Francis, IHP also has affiliations with Morgan Hospital and Medical Center in Martinsville and Major Hospital in Shelbyville.

Last year, nearly 70,000 patients were seen at IHP, including office visits, testing and procedures.

IHP integrated it services with St. Francis Aug. 3, 2009.

To learn more about the Indiana Heart Physicians, go to www.ihpmd.org. More information about St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at www.stfrancishospitals.org.

Indiana Heart Physicians joins forces with St. Francis Hospital

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Heart Physicians, a leading internationally recognized cardiology practice, will integrate its services with St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, effective Aug. 3, 2009.

Thirty years of industry-leading cardiac care to the residents of south central Indiana has taken a major step forward with the integration of Indiana Heart Physicians and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. This integration harnesses the expertise of both organizations and their ability to offer a wider range of cardiac and vascular services to patients in central Indiana.

“The health-care industry has clearly established the need to better manage our scarce resources and to do so with a continued focus on our customers overall health. This can only be achieved by collaborating across the entire care continuum and avoiding all unnecessary costs not associated with patient care,” said Keith Jewell, St. Francis senior vice president and chief operating officer.

“Fully integrating our organizations enables St. Francis and Indiana Heart Physicians to continue the high quality service customers have come to expect while also investing resources in applying the science and research that is transforming the delivery of cardiac care,” added Robert J. Brody, St. Francis president and chief executive officer.

IHP currently has 23 board-certified physicians specialized in the areas of electrophysiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and interventional cardiology. They are supported by nearly 150 physician assistants, nurses, medical technology staff and support personnel.

“Indiana Heart Physicians has proudly served the south-central Indiana community for over 30 years and being fully integrated with St. Francis will only strengthen our ability to continue to provide the best possible cardiovascular care to the patients we serve,” said Jeff Christie, Indiana Heart Physicians’ managing partner.

IHP was established in 1978 under the direction of H.O. “Buzz” Hickman, M.D. In addition to its long-established relationship with St. Francis, IHP also has affiliations with Morgan Hospital and Medical Center in Martinsville and Major Hospital in Shelbyville.

Last year, nearly 70,000 patients were seen at IHP, including office visits, testing and procedures.

IHP physicians conduct most of their work at the St. Francis Heart Center, located on the Indianapolis hospital’s south campus at Emerson Avenue and Stop 11. The center is the home to the city’s first certified Chest Pain Evaluation Center, Midwest Heart Valve Center, vascular laboratory, and a national training site for catheterization lab procedures, carotid stent placement and endovascular repair.

IHP physicians also developed the landmark Emergency Heart Attack Response Team at the Heart Center, which significantly reduces response times for heart attack patients, improves their outcomes and reduces health care costs. The EHART protocol has received much acclaim in the medical world and has been adopted by hospitals throughout the world.

The hospital/physician integration is seemingly timely and reflects a part of the health care reform proposals being discussed nationally, St. Francis and IHP officials say.

To learn more about the Indiana Heart Physicians, go to www.ihpmd.org. More information about St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at www.stfrancishospitals.org.

And the beat goes on: St. Francis doc explains abnormal heart rhythms

INDIANAPOLIS – Ever wonder why some folks feel their heart racing and experience lightheadedness? It’s likely cause is irregular heart rhythms, and that’s the topic for the latest installment in the Ask-the-Doc series sponsored by the St. Francis Heart Center.

Electrophysiologist Robert Kinn, M.D., of Indiana Heart Physicians, will explain atrial fibrillation and other irregular heart rhythms and treatment choices 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 16. He also will discuss the latest minimally invasive options for patients.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common heart rhythm disturbance, affecting more than 2.3 million Americans.

The class, which is free to the public, will meet in the St. Francis Heart Center’s community center near entrance No. 1, 8111 S. Emerson Ave.

To register or for more information, call 317-782-4422, or go on-line at www.stfrancishospitals.org/heart and go to the “classes & events” link.

Cardiac Screening Center lauded for public health service

INDIANAPOLIS – The Cardiac Screening Center at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has been selected to receive the Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Award from the Indiana Public Health Foundation, Inc.

The award, presented annually, is for business and industry in the field of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. The center will be recognized along with other recipients of the Indiana’s Premier Health Awards at a ceremony Thursday, Oct. 2, at the downtown Westin Hotel.

“We are very proud and excited to be the recipient of the Tony and Mary Hulman Health Achievement Award in the field of Preventive Medicine and Public Health,” said screening coordinator Scott Roberts. “Our Cardiac Screening Center has motivated many individuals to make lifestyle modifications to reduce their chances of experiencing cardiac and vascular disease.”

The Cardiac Screening Center, a component of the St. Francis Heart Center, offers a variety of low-cost screening packages to the public, all of which are designed to assess a patient’s risk for heart and vascular disease.

The center’s selection for the award marks the second year in a row that a St. Francis entity has received the Preventive Medicine and Public Health Award. In 2007, the Heart Center’s Emergency Heart Attack Response Team (EHART) was recognized for implementing a protocol that more effectively treats heart attack patients.

Led by Umesh Khot, M.D., a cardiologist with the St. Francis Heart Center and Indiana Heart Physicians, EHART has reduced the time until patients receive lifesaving care after coming to the emergency department with chest pain. Compared to the traditional approaches patients arrive at the cardiac catheterization lab sooner, have less heart damage and shorter hospital stays. In addition, the EHART protocol also reduced the costs of care.

The American Heart Association and the federal government recommend a door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes or less. At St. Francis, EHART has reduced the average door-to-balloon time to just 58 minutes. EHART is so effective that more than 242 hospitals in the United States and around the world have asked St. Francis to share the protocol.
More information about services offered at the Cardiac Screening Center is at www.stfrancishospitals.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=118.

Details about the Hulman Health Achievement Awards can be found at www.bagsandmorebypam.com.

Anthony Bashall joins Indiana Heart Physicians at St. Francis

INDIANAPOLIS – Cardiologist Anthony J. Bashall, M.D., has established a practice at the Indiana Heart Physicians at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.

Bashall is board-certified in internal medicine and board-eligible in cardiovascular disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He has privileges at St. Francis hospitals in Indianapolis, Beech Grove and Mooresville, and has courtesy privileges at Morgan County Hospital in Martinsville and William S. Major Hospital in Shelbyville

A native of Great Britain, Bashall comes to IHP after completing a fellowship at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology and a residency and internship at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Bashall is a 2001 graduate of the IU School of Medicine and earned his bachelor degree in management science marketing at Lancaster University in England.

He holds professional memberships with the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and American Medical Association.

The Indiana Heart Physicians has served the residents of south central Indiana with the highest quality cardiovascular care since 1978. To learn more about IHP and its physicians and services, go to www.ihpmd.com.

‘Heart Matters’ when it comes to women and their health; program open to public

INDIANAPOLIS – With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it’s clear the life of a mother is anything but a holiday: Taking care of kids, running errands, working straight through the day and skipping lunch. Women often are so busy taking care of others they forget to care for themselves, perhaps ignoring or being unaware of signs of their risk of heart disease.

That’s why the St. Francis Heart Center is offering "Heart Matters: What Every Woman Should Know About Heart Disease." The program, which is free to the public, is 6:30 p.m., Thursday, May 8.

Cardiologist Babu Doddapaneni, M.D., of the Indiana Heart Physicians is the featured presenter. He will discuss risk factors and heart disease, how women’s symptoms for a heart attack differ from men’s, less-invasive surgical procedures that benefit women, blood pressure and cholesterol, and how diet, weight and physical activity are important in preventing heart disease.

The program is at the Heart Center’s community center on the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis campus, 8111 S. Emerson Ave.

The program is free; registration is requested. To register online go to http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Heart/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=38 or call (317) 782-4422.

More information about the St. Francis Heart Center is at http://www.stfrancishospitals.org/Heart.

RN selected to manage St. Francis Heart Center progressive care unit

INDIANAPOLIS – Hollynn A. Lobsiger, R.N., has been appointed manager of the progressive care unit at the Heart Center at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers.

From 2006 until her appointment, Lobsiger served in cardiac surgery progressive care unit at St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis. She had several responsibilities, including that of patient care coordinator, charge nurse and preceptor.

Before coming to St. Francis, she served in the cardiac medical intensive care unit at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.

An honors graduate of Ivy Tech State College where she earned an associate degree in nursing, Lobsiger, an Indianapolis resident, is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society in 2000.

St. Francis, iSALUS healthcare partner to improve discharge process for heart patients

INDIANAPOLIS – St. Francis Heart Center and iSALUS healthcare™ have successfully partnered on a unique Discharge Module that helps nurses and doctors more easily coordinate medicines and other discharge needs for cardiac patients leaving the hospital, reducing paperwork time, providing patient education and improving recovery time.

The Web-based Discharge Module allows physicians and nurses to review medicines the patient was taking before entering the hospital, did take while in the hospital and will need after leaving the hospital. Traditionally, this process is time-intensive and involves health care professionals either reviewing documents in a paper chart or logging into multiple software programs to create discharge medication, education and recovery plans for each patient.

This first-of-its kind service provides all of the information in one software program as a service application. Since it is also Web-based, health-care professionals caring for the patient can securely access the information from any computer with Internet access instead of only those that may be connected to a specific computer network.

It also allows the specialists who treated the patient in the hospital to electronically share this information via a secured Internet connection with the patient’s primary care physician instead of sending it by mail, fax or with the patient.

“We’re excited about this new service iSALUS developed for us because it allows our nurses to spend more time with the patient instead of on paperwork,” said Michael Hertel, executive director, St. Francis Heart Center. “It also allows the attending physicians to securely review the medication and other discharge plans from almost anywhere they might be – which in some cases means patients may be able to go home sooner.”

While more physician practices, clinics and hospitals are adopting electronic medical records, this is the first solution to bridge the gap between inpatient and office-based medical record information systems using the Web. Most hospitals and physicians have separate systems that require login into multiple software tools.

“This is a bold model that could help transform the way a patient’s care is coordinated in and out of the hospital,” said Mark Day, CEO, iSALUS healthcare. “The leaders at St. Francis and their physician colleagues are truly visionary because they saw an opportunity to improve the discharge process for cardiac patients. This is just one of many places in the health care system where different healthcare professionals need secure access to a patient’s information. This service bridges a gap between hospital systems and electronic medical records in physician offices and we look forward to making this available to other hospital systems across the country.”

St. Francis Heart Center earns national praise for coronary care

INDIANAPOLIS — The Heart Center at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Coronary Artery Disease (GWTG–CAD) Silver Performance Achievement Award.

The award recognizes the Heart Center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of cardiac care that effectively improves treatment of patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease.

Under GWTG–CAD, patients are started on aggressive risk-reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation/ weight management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before they are discharged.

Hospitals that receive the GWTG-CAD Silver Performance Achievement Award have demonstrated for at least one year that 85 percent of its coronary patients (without risk factors) are discharged following the American Heart Association’s recommended treatment guidelines.

“We are dedicated to making our cardiac unit among the best in the country, and the Get With The Guidelines program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the long-term outcomes of our cardiac patients,” said Heart Center Executive Director Michael Hertel. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care.”

“The American Heart Association applauds the Heart Center at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers for its success in implementing the appropriate evidence-based care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events and deaths in cardiovascular disease patients,” said Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. “The Center has achieved a high level of performance in terms of implementing these life-prolonging treatments.”


The GWTG program is designed to increase the use of and adherence to the American Heart Association’s secondary prevention guidelines for coronary artery disease. Developed to assist healthcare professionals in following proven standards and procedures before patients are discharged, GWTG–CAD can help reduce the risk of recurrent heart attacks and death in treated patients.

The program, which works by mobilizing teams in acute care hospitals to implement AHA/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines, was developed with support from an unrestricted educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.

One such team at St. Francis is the Emergency Heart Attack Response Team (EHART), which recently has received international acclaim for developing a protocol that more effectively treats heart attack patients. Led by Umesh Khot, M.D., a cardiologist with the St. Francis Heart Center and Indiana Heart Physicians, EHART has reduced the time until patients receive lifesaving care after coming to the emergency department with chest pain.

Compared to the traditional protocol, patients arrived at the cardiac catheterization lab sooner, had less heart damage and shorter hospital stays. In addition, the EHART protocol also reduced the costs of care.

The EHART protocol has been requested by more than 170 hospitals and heart experts around the world within the last year.

More information about EHART is at www.heartattackcare.net.

According to the American Heart Association, about 565,000 people suffer a new heart attack and 300,000 experience a recurrent heart attack each year. Statistics also show that within one year of a heart attack, 18 percent of men and 23 percent of women will die. Within five years after an attack, about 33 percent of men and 43 percent of women will die.

The American Heart Association’s GWTG program is being implemented in hospitals around the country.