Health Care

Many Successful Operations
Christiana Care Health System continues growth, wins national recognition

A recent $125 million expansion at Christiana Hospital included The Center for Heart & Vascular Health.

Meeting patients’ needs and exceeding the community’s expectations are everyday occurrences at Christiana Care Health System.

“Our goal is to provide individual care in such a way that people are extraordinarily well cared for,” says Dr. Robert J. Laskowski, president and chief executive officer.

The not-for-profit, privately owned system operates Christiana and Wilmington hospitals, and it also provides transitional care services, preventive medicine and rehabilitation services, primary care physician offices, and a range of outpatient and home health services. The system serves Delaware and portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.

Christiana Care’s commitment to excellence has won national recognition.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2007 list of America’s Best Hospitals ranked Christiana Care among the top 50 in the United States in four specialties: endocrinology, respiratory disorders, digestive disorders, and ear, nose and throat. Laskowski calls it “a tremendous testimony to the doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who work every day to serve the health-care needs of our neighbors.”

Adding to the honors, the National Cancer Institute selected Christiana’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center to be one of 14 U.S. cancer-treatment facilities in a program to expand access to NCI-sponsored clinical trials.

“We are held up as a model for treating cancer,” Laskowski says. “Our dedicated staff has set a new standard for quality cancer care in Delaware.”

A Year for Milestones

Christiana Care Health System achieved other milestones in the past year, too, including the start of a renal transplant program that in January 2007 successfully conducted the first kidney transplant in Delaware.

Another milestone was the completion of the Bank of America Pavilion that houses The Center for Heart & Vascular Health. The center offers new cardiovascular treatment areas, including 10 cardiac catheterization and vascular interventional labs, cardiovascular intensive care units, cardiac telemetry units, and a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery unit.

The Bank of American Pavilion was part of a $125 million expansion that added 140 single-patient rooms with wireless Internet access, 32 extra-large family suites, a unit for spinal surgery patients, and the Get Well Network, which encourages patients to become partners in their own care.

“Our investments in advanced technology, our people and our facilities enable us to carry out our mission of caring for the people in our community,” Laskowski says.

Story by Bill Lewis
Photo by Stephen Cherry

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