Clara Barton Medical Center outreach providers Bassem Chehab, MD, and Brett Grizzell, MD, are leading a global training center of excellence for structural heart established at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis, sharing their expertise in treating patients with a wide range of conditions.
Clara Barton Medical Clinics has a wide variety of specialty outreach providers who visit their clinics in Hoisington and Great Bend, making specialty services available to patients without having to travel hours for care. Among those visiting specialty providers are cardiologist Bassem Chehab, MD, with Cardiovascular Consultants of Kansas, and cardiothoracic surgeon Brett Grizzell, MD, with Wichita Surgical Specialists.
Drs. Chehab and Grizzell lead the well-established structural heart program at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis in partnership with cardiologist Richard Steckley, MD, of Cardiovascular Consultants of Kansas; and physician assistant Richard Allenbach.
The team was recently selected by Abbott, a leading healthcare company and medical device manufacturer, as a global training center of excellence for its structural heart business. Through this program, their expertise in treating patients with a wide range of structural heart conditions will be shared with specialists worldwide.”
Drs. Chehab and Grizzell have performed thousands of cutting-edge valve replacements and other cardiac procedures. Their success rate has gained attention on a national and international level for its consistent and predictable outcomes using a wide range of therapies and technologies to treat patients with various structural heart conditions including aortic and mitral valve stenosis; aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve regurgitation; atrial fibrillation and stroke; congestive heart disease and heart failure; coronary artery disease; and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
“To be selected as a worldwide training center for one of the world’s leading medical device manufacturers is an honor and testament to the excellent outcomes we are able to achieve using a wide range of available therapies and technologies,” said Dr. Chehab.
Abbott’s selection of this team was built upon previous work conducted, such as a pivotal clinical study of a first-of-its-kind Tendyne transcatheter mitral valve replacement system for treating mitral regurgitation, also known as leaky heart valve, as well as launching a separate feasibility study of its Tendyne system in patients with severe mitral annular calcification.
Currently, Chehab and Grizzell’s team are participating in 20 active major investigational clinical trials through the Food and Drug Administration.
“These studies of cutting-edge technologies likely will shape the future of structural heart therapies for the next decade,” said Dr. Chehab.
Dr. Chehab and Dr. Grizzell visit Clara Barton on a regular basis. Dr. Chehab visits Clara Barton Medical Clinic in Hoisington on the second and third Monday of each month; Dr. Grizzell, who has extended family living in Barton County and visited Clara Barton Medical Clinic in Great Bend monthly prior to COVID-19, now goes as needed.
“We are incredibly lucky to have these outstanding physicians visit our clinics and provide specialty services for our patients locally,” said Clara Barton Medical Center President/CEO Jim Blackwell. “They not only provide exceptional care, but are beloved by the patients they serve because of their stellar bedside manner. We couldn’t be more proud to have both Dr. Chehab and Dr. Grizzell as a part of our medical team.”
