Neurological care for the region advances with equipment upgrade at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at RiverBend

Grant from Runnin’ Wild Fund of Oregon Community Foundation to support expansion of Neurointerventional Program

Time is critical when treating medical conditions affecting the brain, including strokes and aneurysms. The longer a patient goes without treatment, the greater the chance of irreversible damage.

Thanks to a generous $1 million grant from the Runnin’ Wild Fund of Oregon Community Foundation, this month PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend upgraded its current minimally invasive neurosurgery equipment, called a neuro biplane.

PeaceHealth announced today that the next phase of building neurological capacity to meet increasing regional demand will include an additional room equipped with a second neuro biplane.

PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at RiverBend’s neurointerventional team treats patients in the region for disorders of the blood vessels feeding the head, neck, brain and spine.

“Having this equipment in the Eugene-Springfield area will make lifesaving interventions more accessible and proximate to patients who previously would have required time-consuming emergency transport to Portland,” said Maylian Pak, Oregon Community Foundation’s director of donor relations. “I am honored to help facilitate the funding to support this project.”

The new equipment will enable the neurointerventional team to serve more patients and help ensure that a neuro biplane is always available for emergency cases.

“We’re so grateful for this opportunity,” said Dr. Michael Wilder, medical director of PeaceHealth Oregon’s neurointerventional program. “This upgrade will enable us to diagnose and offer minimally invasive treatment to more people in our region with strokes, aneurysms, blood vessel malformations and narrowing. This will bring world-class neurological care to more people in our communities.”

Russ Clifford of Cottage Grove experienced that care firsthand when he had a stroke last year. He arrived by ambulance at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at RiverBend’s emergency department and quickly went into surgery.

Using the previous equipment available at the hospital, Dr. Wilder guided a catheter through the groin into the brain and successfully removed a clot. Clifford was in the ICU for 24 hours and has had no lasting effects from the stroke.

“My wife Janna and I were amazed at the quick, efficient response from EMTs, hospital staff and Dr. Wilder and team,” Clifford said. “We’re incredibly grateful for this procedure, which allowed me to avoid adverse effects from the stroke.”

PeaceHealth Sacred Heart at RiverBend is the only certified Comprehensive Stroke Center between Portland and Sacramento. Only 300 institutions have the certification nationwide.

This certification is awarded to hospitals with the personnel, infrastructure and expertise to diagnose and treat stroke patients who require intensive medical and surgical care, specialized tests or interventional therapies available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dr. Wilder began using the new Philips Azurion Neuro Interventional Biplane earlier this month. The biplane provides 2D and 3D imaging while doctors perform minimally invasive surgery.

The grant for this new equipment was made through the Runnin’ Wild Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation to the PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center Foundation. This generous gift has sparked a fundraising effort to raise an additional $1.2 million by June 30, 2022 to finish PeaceHealth’s neurointerventional program expansion with a second neuro biplane room. More information about Sacred Heart Foundation’s Neurointerventional Program Support Fund is available at www.peacehealth.org/foundation/sacred-heart/donate-now, or call 541-222-7120 to speak to a member of the Foundation team.  

About PeaceHealth: PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 900 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.

About Oregon Community Foundation: Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) works with donors and volunteers to award grants and scholarships to every county in Oregon. From 2020 to 2021, OCF distributed more than $560 million, supporting more than 4,000 nonprofits and 6,000 students. With OCF, individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds that meet the needs of diverse communities statewide. Since its founding in 1973, OCF has distributed more than $2 billion toward advancing its mission to improve lives for all Oregonians. For more information, please visit: oregoncf.org.