Baptist Health Care Celebrates 5 Years of Providing Lifesaving ECMO Care

Baptist Health Care is in its fifth year of providing lifesaving ECMO care in northwest Florida and south Alabama. Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is an advanced treatment option for adult patients with life-threatening lung and heart conditions.

Baptist pioneered the treatment in the local community as the first in the area to offer ECMO. Since its inception, the Baptist ECMO program has treated more than 100 patients.

“This treatment is for the most critical patients facing a dire health crisis. ECMO provides cardiac and respiratory support to patients, whose hearts and/or lungs are unable to sustain their lives. Our skilled and experienced ECMO care team makes our lifesaving program possible,” says Dr. Enrique Diaz, ECMO program medical director.

The ECMO team comprises dedicated individuals who continuously collaborate to provide the best possible outcomes for ECMO patients. This includes pulmonary intensivists, cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists, nurses, perfusionists, and other clinical support staff.

ECMO is a rescue treatment that supports patients with serious conditions such as severe pneumonia, flu, COVID, massive heart attack, or massive pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs). When too weak to function, ECMO can support the lungs or both the heart and lungs, allowing them to rest until they have strengthened to resume functioning on their own.

For more information about ECMO and the many procedures and treatments offered at Baptist, visit eBaptistHealthCare.org/Heart/ECMO or call 850.908.ECMO (3266).

**Dr. Diaz is an independent member of the medical staff of Baptist Hospital Inc., and is not an employee or an agent of Baptist Health Care.