Overview

Located within HealthPark Medical Center, Shipley Cardiothoracic Center provides a contemporary approach to the surgical treatment of the heart and lungs. Lee Health System has been caring for patients in Southwest Florida for more than 100 years while providing state-of-the-art cardiothoracic surgery for more than 40 years. Founded in 2014 from a generous grant, Shipley Cardiothoracic Center delivers programs of innovation, education and research to the patients we serve through collaborative partnerships with referring physicians, industry, community leaders, sponsors and CROs.

Research Experience

Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to, structural heart, noninvasive and minimally invasive cardiothoracic technology, advancements in surgical management of atrial fibrillation and heart failure, and thoracic oncology.

• Lee Health System has been conducting research for more than 20 years.
• Shipley has been conducting research since 2014 with CRO data scorecard compliance of more than 98 percent.
• Current and past sponsors/CRO partners:
  • Medtronic
  • Astellas Pharma
  • ICON Clinical Research
  • Arthrex
  • Mayo Clinic
  • John Hopkins University
  • Edwards LifeScience
  • AtriCure

Facility Description

HealthPark Medical Center - 415 bed hospital

Our surgeons’ clinic is located within the medical center. Clinic is offered five days a week.

Shipley Research Center has six patient-exam areas and a fully equipped procedure room. The center also features a secure storage area for records and product, all required medical equipment, including EKG machines, centrifuges, -70° and -20° freezers, and sufficient office space with internet connection for use by study monitors. Being located within the Medical Center affords us full, onsite clinical laboratory, radiology, cardiology and emergency services also.

Research within Lee Health also includes Galisano Children’s Hospital for pediatric and Lee Health Regional Cancer Center for adult protocols.

Recognitions:

• IBM Watson Top 50 US Cardiac Program — 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
• 5-STAR 30-day readmission rate for cardiovascular surgery — 2017, 2018, 2019
• 3-STAR lung cancer rating from the Society for Thoracic Surgeons for lobectomy — 2017, 2018, 2019
• All four Lee Health Hospitals named in top five percent in HealthGrades — 2015, 2016, 2021
• Leap Frog Group Top Hospital recognition for safety — 2018, 2019, 2020
• Best Regional Hospital recognition by U.S. News & World Report — 2017, 2018, 2020

HealthPark Medical Center Surgical services include:

• 14 operating rooms (five designated open-heart operating rooms)
• Two special procedure/hybrid operating rooms
• TAVR: performed more than 1200 TAVR procedures since 2012, with more than 275 of these in 2020
• Cardiovascular/vascular: more than 850 surgeries in 2020
• General thoracic: more than 350 thoracic surgeries in 2020

Research Services

• Hospital and out-patient CLIA and CAP laboratories
• Hospital pharmacy
• Submission turnaround: 30 business days

• Computerized electronic source

Investigator Experience

Our group of surgeons and staff have a long-standing reputation as a minimally invasive center of excellence. Beginning more than 12 years ago with minimally invasive valve surgery, our experience has expanded to include robotic heart surgery, transcatheter valve therapies and hybrid surgical programs.  Shipley Cardiothoracic Center ranks in the top 10 percent in the U.S. for valve surgery volumes with more than 1,000 minimally invasive valve surgeries performed.

Board-certified cardiothoracic surgeons:

Dr. Randall Buss, MD, FACS

Dr. Michael DeFrain, MD, FACS

Dr. Paul DiGiorgi, MD, FACS

Staff Expertise

Staff are GCP- and human subjects-certified.

Jane Wernow, MSN, RN, CCRP
Clinical Specialist
Senior Research Coordinator
SOCRA certified

Former employment includes 25+ years of experience for the device industry as a clinical applications specialist for both industry and clinical research, industry research monitoring and support of surgical-device cases.

Michelle Deckard, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRP
Clinical Research Coordinator
SOCRA certified

Board-certified clinical nurse specialist with 30+ years in acute care, with focus on cardiac critical care. Experience includes unit, hospital, systemwide management of patient-centered programs and processes, database management, education, research and publication. She has also spoken on Targeted Temperature Management postcardiac arrest.

Patient Demographics

Patient population includes male and female 18 years and above

Other Information

• Lee Health System Internal Review Committee meets monthly.