Rancho Mirage, CA (December 16, 2021) — Eisenhower Health is the FIRST hospital in California to be recognized by Edwards Lifesciences for completing its Edwards Benchmark program for the treatment of aortic stenosis in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).

The standard treatment for aortic stenosis (a narrowing of the aortic valve opening) has been valve replacement through open-heart surgery. In 2015, Eisenhower Health became the first and only hospital in the Coachella Valley to approach aortic stenosis with TAVR.

TAVR is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a faulty valve without surgically opening the chest. With the TAVR approach, a team of interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeons delivers a collapsible replacement valve to the valve site through a catheter. Once in position, the new valve is expanded, pushing the old valve leaflets (the “flaps” that control blood flow) out of the way and creating a new valve orifice.

Since 2015, Eisenhower Health has performed more than 500 TAVR procedures and now, designated as an Edwards Benchmark program, the hospital will be a training site for other health care facilities across the globe.

“Eisenhower Health is a cardiovascular center of excellence,” says Scott Strech, RN, BSN MBA, Chief Administrative Officer/Administrator, Cardiovascular Services, Eisenhower Health. “To have completed the Edwards Benchmark program underscores our commitment to providing the best cardiovascular care to our community. It takes a multidisciplinary team effort that embraces technology and works together to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.

According to Edwards, the Benchmark program is designed to educate the multidisciplinary heart team and improve the patient clinical pathway which translates to shorter patient stays and reduced procedure times.

Eisenhower Health is a not-for-profit, comprehensive health care institution that includes the 437-bed Eisenhower Hospital, the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at Eisenhower and the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower. The Betty Ford Center is also located on the Eisenhower campus. Eisenhower is renowned for its Centers of Excellence in Orthopedics, Cardiovascular, Neuroscience and Oncology.

Situated on 130 acres in Rancho Mirage, and with outpatient clinics across the valley, Eisenhower Health has provided a full range of quality medical and educational services for 50 years for residents and visitors to the greater Coachella Valley. Eisenhower has twice earned ANCC Magnet Recognition® for professionalism in nursing and excellence in patient care. The first accredited teaching hospital in the valley, Eisenhower trains physician residents in Internal Medicine, Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine. For more information, visit EisenhowerHealth.org or follow Eisenhower Health on social media.

Eisenhower Is The Only Hospital In The Coachella Valley To Offer TAVR