Heart Institute Reaches Milestone with 1,000th Open Heart Surgery

On February 18, cardiothoracic surgeon Mark Nelson, M.D., performed the 1,000th open-heart surgery procedure done at the Heart Institute at the Western Maryland Health System. Cumberland resident Vada Kile underwent bypass open heart surgery several days before this photo was taken. She is pictured in the Cardiovascular Unit (CVU) on the Sacred Heart Campus with Heart Institute staff (from left) Linda McGinnis, Kay Deter, Dr. Nelson and Byron Logsdon. The WMHS Heart Institute began providing the procedure locally in November 2000.