Heart transplant patient Mick Doughty, center, presented Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento with the Comprehensive Cardiac Center certification in 2023. The hospital recently was recertified by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association after a rigorous on-site evaluation and is still one of only two cardiovascular centers in Northern California to receive the top honor.

NORTHERN CALIF. — Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento this month received the top cardiovascular honor from The Joint Commission/American Heart Association — recertification as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center — representing Sutter’s commitment to upholding the highest standards of cardiac care quality and safety. Sutter Medical Center is one of only two hospitals in Northern California to have received the certification.

“This certification by The Joint Commission and American Heart Association recognizes the dedication and excellence of the cardiovascular staff at Sutter Medical Center,” said Dr. David Roberts, section chief of interventional cardiology for Sutter Health’s heart and vascular service line. “It is a team sport that requires the doctors, nurses and the entire ancillary staff to function at the very top of their game. I cannot be more proud of this team.”

In 2023, Sutter Medical Center became one of only 16 heart programs in the nation and the second in the western United States to earn the certification, the other being Stanford Hospital, Sutter Medical Center’s partner for its pediatric heart surgery program. The recertification earned this month demonstrates Sutter’s excellence in heart and vascular care, where cardiologists and care teams “deliver superior quality of care across the cardiac continuum” and provide “world-class, patient-centric service,” as outlined by The Joint Commission.

“We pursued becoming a Comprehensive Cardiac Center because we saw an opportunity — not just to close the gaps that existed, but to push ourselves toward true excellence,” said Thomas Rhodes, Sutter’s Greater Sacramento Division heart and vascular service line executive who championed the certification. “This is one of the most rigorous surveys in healthcare, and our cardiovascular team at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento went well above and beyond, and our patients are the real beneficiaries of that dedication. It’s the intent of our leadership team to carry this standard of excellence to sister hospitals across the Sutter Health system.”

A Legacy of Pioneering Heart and Cardiovascular Services

Sutter Medical Center has the most comprehensive cardiac care program in the greater Sacramento region and the only heart transplant program in Northern California outside the Bay Area. Its lifesaving services include:

• An adult congenital heart disease program and clinic, which is one of only two programs in Northern California accredited by the national Adult Congenital Heart Association.
• Structural heart disease program with the next generation of devices, including transcatheter aortic valve replacement, also known as TAVR, mitral and tricuspid valve repair, and transcatheter mitral, tricuspid and pulmonary valve replacement. In addition, the program offers innovations for percutaneous atrial septal closure, as well as the Watchman™ device.
• Electrophysiology and atrial fibrillation services, including the first regional case with the Affera device for simultaneous mapping and innovative pulse-field ablation for treatment of atrial fibrillation.
• Pediatric heart and vascular services, including heart surgery.
• Transplants and cardiac assist devices, such as a left ventricular assist device, also known as LVAD, and the Impella heart pump.
• Renal denervation treatment of resistant hypertension.
• Access to heart and vascular research and clinical trials, testing the latest treatments, medical devices and surgical approaches.

Heart transplant patient Mick Doughty is flanked by Sutter Health’s Greater Sacramento Division President Rachael McKinney, who is holding the award, and Dr. David Roberts, medical director of the Sutter Heart & Vascular Institute.

With a rich history as a pioneer of heart and vascular services that began in 1957, Sutter Medical Center is where innovation starts in the greater Sacramento region, with milestones such as the first:

• Successful open-heart surgery;
• Pediatric open-heart surgery;
• Heart transplant;
• Interventional vascular program;
• Pediatric heart catheterization.

“The list of pioneering ‘firsts’ at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento and Sutter Heath as a system is a true testament to the hard work and commitment to clinical excellence that each of our heart and vascular specialists leads with,” says Dr. Steven Hao, Sutter cardiologist and chief medical officer of Sutter’s service lines. “Sutter Medical Center is a crucial ‘hub’ of quality and innovation within our heart and vascular service line, and this recertification represents our commitment to provide patients with the highest-quality care and experience throughout Northern California. We want the best for our patients, and our medical staff works tirelessly to ensure the heart and vascular care they receive means they can live their fullest, longest lives.”

Patients Benefit from a Continuing Tradition of Heart and Vascular Excellence

Mick Doughty, a Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento patient who received a heart transplant in the 1990s, was told he’d gain another 10 years of life with the new heart. Now, more than 30 years after the transplant, Doughty aims to beat the current 40-year record and be admitted into Guiness World Records. Click here to watch a video about Doughty’s health journey, his goal to be the longest-living heart transplant recipient, and his presentation of the Comprehensive Cardiac Center certification to Sutter Medical Center.

For a complete list of the premier heart and vascular services Sutter offers, visit: https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/heart-and-vascular.