Memorial Regional Hospital Recognized as Gold Level Center of Excellence for Adult ECMO Program

Memorial Regional Hospital has been recognized by Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) as a “Designated Gold Level Center of Excellence” for its adult extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program. The Memorial Healthcare System facility is the only one in South Florida to earn the recognition.

This is the third consecutive Gold award for Memorial’s cardiac and vascular team, with the ELSO designation valid for three years.

ECMO is an advanced therapy that uses a machine to temporarily replace the function of the heart and lungs of critically-ill patients recovering from severe lung damage, cardiogenic shock, or heart failure. Blood is pumped and oxygenated outside of the body, and then returned to the body, allowing the patient’s heart and/or lungs to rest.

“Memorial Cardiac & Vascular Institute teams are focused on providing patients the very best critical care services, integrating advanced life support equipment and care,” said Jose P. Garcia, MD, chief of Memorial Healthcare System’s Adult Heart Transplant & Mechanical Circulatory Support Program. “Being recognized as a gold level Center of Excellence at Memorial Regional reflects the dedication to advancing healthcare that we strive to achieve daily.”

Designated Centers of Excellence are experienced in-patient care providers with established policies, procedures, training, education, and community leadership. Centers must incorporate advanced quality initiatives and continuously review processes within their program. Outcome reviews must be demonstrated as an integral component of their organization.

“Our program has evolved tremendously over the past decade, and we are honored to be the recipient of a prestigious award that recognizes the excellence of our critical care services, life support equipment, and training,” said Lance Cohen, MD, FCCP, medical director of Memorial’s Extracorporeal Life Support (ECLS) program. “We are fortunate to have the institutional support needed to grow and provide this lifesaving service to our community and beyond.”

Memorial’s adult ECMO program is made up of a multi-disciplinary team of critical care, cardiac surgery, heart failure, and transplant surgery specialists, as well as pharmacists and respiratory therapists, who work together to support patients. It is the only provider in South Florida to offer mobile ECMO services, which provide safe hospital-to-hospital transfers of ECMO patients under the care and supervision of a specially-trained transport team.

ELSO is an international, nonprofit consortium of healthcare institutions, researchers, providers, and industry partners. It provides support to those delivering extracorporeal life support through continuing education, guidelines, original research, publications, and a comprehensive registry of ECMO patient data.