Now open: El Dorado Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Club member Julie Matthews cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of the Cardio-Vascular Unit at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.

Pictured, from left, are Chuck Long, Keitha Griffith, Mike Webb, Dr. Donald Voelker, Luther Lewis, Matthews, Dr. William Wilson, Bob Cook, Dr. Girish Bhatt, Dr. Daniel Schrader and Angela Simmons.
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The Medical Center of South Arkansas salutes our doctors on National Doctor’s Day. We appreciate your compassion, skill, endurance and desire. [Read More…]
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Quality of life in South Arkansas received a boost earlier this week with the opening of the new Cardiovascular Surgical Center.
For years, area residents in need of cardiac services have traveled many miles to Little Rock or Shreveport for care. Today, they can go to Medical Center of South Arkansas.
If, by chance, anyone has failed to notice the construction and activity at MCSA, take a drive by the hospital complex and see what is happening. A tremendous investment has been made in our medical community, which translates into a huge investment for our community as a whole.
Two operating suites, which cost more than $7 million to build, are housed in a renovated portion of Medical Center of South Arkansas.
Each operating room is equipped with a $200,000 heart lung machine along with other hightech, life-saving equipment.
The facilities have been described as being as fine as any in the world ñ and more importantly ñ the physicians who will be working there have been described as world class.
"These are the finest operating suites in the world," said Dr.Donald J. Voelker, an interventional cardiologist who will practice at the new center.
"If you go to Texas, there is a world renowned surgeon named Dr. Michael DeBakey. We are told that he doesnít even have equipment this good. That really puts things in perspective."
Voelker will work alongside four other doctors to provide heart care to South Arkansas: Dr. William R. Wilson, a heart transplant, vascular and cardiac valve surgeon; Dr.Girish Bhatt, a cardiovascular care physician, and Dr. Daniel Schrader, an electrophysiologist and cardiologist. The fourth physician, Dr.H.K. Reddy, will join the team in June.
Voelker called Wilson, who will head the centerís more difficult operations such as transplants, "a world class heart surgeon."
These people and this facility are in El Dorado.
Anyone who has faced a medical crisis knows the value of life-saving procedures being available in their immediate area.
Kudos to MCSA for expanding its services and making the commitment and investment required to serve our medical needs.
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By JOHN WORTHEN News-Times Staff Peggy

Abernathy of El Dorado and her family practically "wore the road out between here and Little Rock" when her husband, Bill, had heart trouble in 2003.
Abernathy's husband had four bypasses and a defibrillator installed that year, and the extra time spent on the road made the strain even harder on the family.
But if someone has heart trouble in South Arkansas today, they need only drive to the Cardiovascular Surgical Center at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.
In what was hailed as a momentous day for medical care in South Arkansas, the grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was held Monday afternoon for the new center.
A group of approximately 150 residents, dignitaries, physicians and hospital staff crowded around the two operating suites, which cost more than $7 million to build and will soon host patients from throughout South Arkansas.
The suites are housed in a renovated portion of the hospital that was once home to two operating rooms and a laboratory. Each operating room is equipped with a camera that is fixed on the patient, broadcasting the surgeon' hands on large, liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors for nurses and other operating room personnel to see.
Each room is also equipped with a $200,000 heart lung machine that is the hub of dozens of other high-tech, life-saving equipment.
"These are the finest operating suites in the world," Dr. Donald J. Voelker, an interventional cardiologist who will practice at the new center, told the crowd.
"If you go to Texas, there is a world renowned surgeon named Dr. Michael DeBakey. We are told that he doesn't even have equipment this good. That really puts things in perspective."
Voelker will work alongside four other doctors to provide heart care to South Arkansas: Dr. William R. Wilson, a heart transplant, vascular and cardiac valve surgeon, Dr. Girish Bhatt, a cardiovascular care physician, and Dr. Daniel Schrader, an electrophysiologist and cardiologist. The fourth physician, Dr. H.K.
Reddy, will join the team in June.
Voelker called Wilson, who will head the center's more difficult operations such as transplants, "a world class heart surgeon." Wilson is no stranger to the operating room, having performed multiple life-saving heart surgeries throughout the world.
Last month, Wilson led an El Dorado medical team on a charity trip to Peru, where he was able to operate on people who would never have been able to afford the care of a heart surgeon.
During the ceremony Monday, Wilson called the center's opening a great day for El Dorado.
"These suites are the finest that money can buy," Wilson said. "We have the best equipment available anywhere. I want to thank (Medical Center of South Arkansas Chief Executive Officer Luther J. Lewis) Mr. Lewis for this great day."
Lewis told the crowd that he was pleased to be able to introduce the team of professionals to the community.
"We are excited ... what a great asset to our facility, our community and the residents of South Arkansas and the surrounding area," Lewis said.
"It provides local options for cardiac services needed by a growing number of area residents. Residents of South Arkansas no longer need to go out of town. We now provide heart care ... right here in South Arkansas."
Already, the center has performed several operations, including two aneurysms and a pacemaker installation. In the future, though, transplants and bypass surgeries will be performed, providing area residents a service that just a few months ago would have only been available in much larger cities.
It's news that residents like Abernathy, who know what it's like to travel hundreds of miles to seek quality heart care, are glad to hear.
"It's wonderful to have something like this here in our community," Abernathy said. "I'm happy it's here."

Tour of new facility: Physician Assistant Clyde Ginnett gives a tour of the Cardiovascular Surgery Operating Room at the Medical Center of South Arkansas. The center was unveiled on Tuesday with a ribbon cutting and tour of the facilities.
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