Story by: Joe Hall on October 17, 2023
Norton Children’s is celebrating a milestone almost 40 years in the making. Doctors with Norton Children’s Heart Institute performed the hospital’s 100th pediatric heart transplant.
The patient, a 9-year-old, is currently recovering. He had been on the transplant waiting list for almost a year.
“It’s exciting to reach this milestone,” said Bahaaldin Alsoufi, M.D., chief of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and co-director of Norton Children’s Heart Institute, affiliated with the UofL School of Medicine. “We are the only pediatric program in the state capable of doing heart transplants. And we are doing that with outcomes that match those of the best programs in the United States.”
In 1986, Norton Children’s Hospital became the second hospital in the nation to perform a heart transplant in an infant. Since then, Norton Children’s Heart Institute has grown into a full-service program featuring a specialized team of cardiovascular and transplant surgeons, cardiologists, fetal heart specialists, and other caregivers dedicated to heart patients and their families. Norton Children’s Heart Institute is among the top 50 pediatric heart programs in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Norton Children’s Hospital opened the Jennifer Lawrence Cardiac Intensive Care Unit in 2020. The 17-bed unit features private rooms dedicated to children recovering from heart procedures and other conditions requiring intensive care.
“Our heart program has a deep legacy that has grown and impacted the lives of children from all across our region,” said Lynnie Meyer, R.N., Ed.D. FAHP, CFRE, senior vice president and chief development officer, Norton Healthcare. “This work is simply not possible without the deep support of our entire community. I think about the countless people involved, and the resources we’ve been able to devote to ensuring these children and their families have hope for the future. We have a deep gratitude for what we have here at Norton Children’s Hospital.”
Norton Children’s Heart Institute serves families beyond Louisville with a network of services at over 16 locations throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana, including outpatient centers in Bowling Green, Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Paducah.