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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Cord blood donor program earns ‘hero’ status for health care achievement

INDIANAPOLIS – The cord blood donor program at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers was recognized as a finalist at the 2008 Indianapolis Business Journal Health Care Heroes Awards ceremony today (March 7).

The cord blood donor program was recognized in the Community Achievement in Health Care category. The annual Health Care Heroes Awards honor companies, individuals and organizations for their contributions to improving health care in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, including Marion and surrounding counties.

"This has been a very exciting program for our families and our nursing staff in the labor and delivery area," said Lori Warner, R.N., director of Women & Children’s Services. "We’re honored that the program was nominated and has been recognized for its contributions."

The program was nominated for the award by EndGenitor Technologies, Inc.

St. Francis and EndGenitor launched the donor program in early 2007, giving parents at St. Francis Hospital—Indianapolis the option of donating blood from the umbilical cord after the birth of their babies instead of discarding the cord.

More than 900 units of cord blood have been donated since the program began.

Cord blood is a rich and valuable source of adult stem cells and contains the building blocks for creating blood vessels, cells of the immune system, organs and tissues.

The cord blood donated to EndGenitor is used for the research and development of adult stems cells, which can be used to develop potential treatments for cancer, cardiovascular disease and other disorders.

"The impact of this research on the future treatment of disease is immense," said Program Coordinator Cheryl Boys-Fore, R.N., St. Francis nurse practitioner.

St. Francis’ Institutional Review Board – the internal group that reviews all of the hospital’s research projects – approved the collection protocols and EndGenitor’s adult cord blood stem cell research initiatives. That company’s methodologies for such research are within the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care.

Labor and delivery physicians and nurses at St. Francis obtain informed consents from patients who volunteer to be donors.

There’s no risk to mothers and children to donate cord blood after delivery, and the identities of donors in the EndGenitor-St. Francis program are kept confidential.

EndGenitor, the first adult endothelial stem cell company in Indiana, provides cord blood collection kits to St. Francis and also handles the transport of the material. The company also sponsors continuing education to the hospital’s nursing staff through the St. Francis Healthcare Foundation.