Western Baptist hosted a Groundbreaking Ceremony for its new Heart Center on in late November. Construction is now underway on the $20 million, 79,000 square feet facility, which has been strategically designed to provide immediate access from the emergency department. The new center will consist of two levels, with a new helicopter pad located on the rooftop.

The first level of the Baptist Heart Center will house all invasive and noninvasive procedures, including cardiac cath labs, echo-cardiology, nuclear cardiology, ultrasound, and stress testing facilities. Additional space is designed into the building to accommodate emerging technologies as the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular disease evolves. Western Baptist’s Cardiac Rehabilitation department will also relocate to the center’s first level. The second level of the Baptist Heart Center will feature an auditorium to host advanced educational programs.

Registration for procedures housed in the new center will be located within the center, itself. Parking will be available on the hospital’s east end and north side, near Broadway St. The center’s main entrance will be located at the 24th Street side, while an ambulance canopy will face the Kentucky Avenue side of the facility.

 For more than 25 years, Western Baptist has healed the hearts of many in the four-state region by offering advanced cardiac care provided by some of the most skilled and dedicated physicians in the country. Since bringing open heart surgery to western Kentucky in 1985, the hospital has performed more than 8,100 open heart procedures and it performs more than 3,000 heart procedures in the cardiac cath labs each year.