Mease Countryside Hospital Expands Cardiac Services

First Hospital on Florida’s West Coast to Offer Philips Azurion Guided Imagery

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. (February 22, 2018) – When Mease Countryside opened its expanded cardiac care services with a new cardiac catheterization lab, the hospital also became the first hospital on Florida’s west coast to offer the Philips Azurion image-guided therapy platform.

“Mease Countryside’s expanded cardiac catheterization lab gives us the opportunity to provide potentially lifesaving treatment to more patients experiencing a heart attack,” said Interventional Cardiologist Rakesh Sharma, MD. “Our new imaging system provides the most advanced platform available to help doctors find and treat blocked arteries in the heart.”

The state-of-the-art technology takes imaging to the next level with a 58-inch, high-definition screen featuring eight video inputs so clinicians clearly can view multiple images at the same time. This enhanced view is designed to help produce faster, more accurate images.

The expanded cardiac services at Mease Countryside Hospital include a 16-bed patient area for patients before and after a procedure and a new family waiting area that includes a separate consultation room to allow physicians to speak privately with patient families.

“We are excited to be the first hospital on the west coast of Florida to be able to offer patients the advantages of this technologically advanced guided imagery platform,” said Interventional Cardiologist Richard  Sola, MD. “This technology will allow our team to optimize our interventional lab performance as we continue to provide outstanding care to our patients.”

About Mease Countryside Hospital’s Cardiovascular Services
Located in northern Pinellas County, Mease Countryside Hospital offers a broad range of cardiac services including elective angioplasty, an all-digital cardiac catheterization lab, a cardiac stress testing lab that includes nuclear medicine testing and an electrocardiogram and echocardiogram unit to test for heart abnormalities. The Emergency Cardiac Center specializes in performing emergency percutaneous coronary interventions to patients experiencing the most critical type of heart attack. Mease Countryside Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program and Cardiovascular Health Improvement program is nationally certified by the American Association of Cardio-Vascular Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

About Mease Countryside Hospital
Mease Countryside Hospital is a 311-bed facility committed to improving the health of everyone it serves. Mease Countryside has been awarded a total of 12 Top 100 Hospital designations in the areas of stroke, orthopedic, intensive care and overall care by the Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals: National Benchmarks for Success. Mease Countryside Hospital has also been designated as a “Baby-Friendly” Hospital by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in recognition of its ability to offer breastfeeding mothers the information, skills and support needed to successfully initiate and continue breastfeeding their babies.  The hospital’s Primary Stroke Center and Spine Care has received the Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval. Mease Countryside Hospital is located at 3231 McMullen Booth Road, Safety Harbor, Fla. For more information about Mease Countryside Hospital, go to www.baycare.org/mch. 

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 14 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.