The Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (WUDA) has partnered with Missouri Baptist Medical Center (MBMC), a member of BJC Healthcare, to provide both cardiothoracic anesthesiology services in the operating room as well as comprehensive critical care services in the cardiovascular recovery (CVR) intensive care unit. The Divisions of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine will be collaborating to provide this continuum of care at MBMC. This partnership means that WUDA will be caring for cardiothoracic patients throughout the intra- and post-op period.
The expansion of the Departmental footprint includes the three cardiothoracic operating rooms and occasionally one hybrid operating suite at MBMC. WUDA will staff these anesthetic sites with members of the Division of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology including the addition of three accomplished senior cardiothoracic anesthesiologists, with over 90 years of combined experiences, from the group that had been providing cardiothoracic anesthesia services at MBMC.
- Leander Lee, MD, completed medical school at the University of Nebraska before arriving at WUDA for residency. Following his training, he left the department in 1984, to help start the cardiac surgery program at MBMC; he has helped the program flourish over the following 36 years.
- Kevin Buccol, MD, joined Dr. Lee at MBMC in 1986. He had arrived at WUDA for residency and then a fellowship in cardiac anesthesiology after having completed medical school at the University of Missouri.
- Paul Zanaboni, MD, PhD, obtained his graduate degrees at Saint Louis University, prior to completing residency at John Hopkins University. He has spent time in various private and academic groups in St. Louis and Nashville, including previously spending time within WUDA.
- Ehab Morcos, MD, had been part of the MBMC CT Anesthesiology group and he will be joining the department as part of the WUDA team at Progress West Hospital, which is also part of BJC Healthcare.
- A seasoned CRNA from the group, Nick Curdt, will also be joining the department.
The CVR is a busy 10-bed unit at MBMC and routinely accepts patients after their cardiothoracic procedures in addition to other patients that have critical care needs at MBMC. The expansion of critical care services in the CVR includes 24-hour in-house Advanced Practice Providers as well intensivists and will help elevate the excellent care that has already been standard at MBMC. The cardiothoracic patients undergo a wide variety of procedures including minimally invasive and transcatheter based procedures as well as traditional open cardiac surgery; additionally, patients also undergo labor-intensive advanced procedures like Extracorporeal Membranous Oxygenation (ECMO). The critical care team will include many members of the group currently providing critical care for cardiothoracic patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital (BJH) as well as two new team members, Rich Becker, PA, and Lisa Doyle, ACNP, who will be joining WUDA from MBMC.
This partnership in cardiothoracic surgical care between Washington University in St. Louis and BJC provide both MBMC and WUDA with opportunities for growth and elevation of the care provided for cardiothoracic patients in the greater St. Louis area.
Best wishes,
TJ, Anne, and Michael
Thomas J. Graetz, MD, MBA
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology
Anne M. Drewry, MD, MSCI
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Division Chief of Critical Care Medicine
Michael S. Avidan, MBBCh, FCASA
Dr. Seymour and Rose T. Brown Professor of Anesthesiology
Head of the Department of Anesthesiology
Anesthesiologist-in-Chief, Barnes-Jewish Hospital