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Almost two years after the opening of the new hospital on Mayo Clinic's Florida campus, employees still get pumped up about working in the state-of-the-art operating rooms (ORs). The cardiothoracic surgery team has two designated heart operating rooms, each averaging more than 700 square feet in size, spacious by OR standards. They are equipped with ceiling-mounted high-definition monitors and two booms with video equipment that can be controlled from the nurses' area.
Cardiothoracic surgeons Dr. Kevin Landolfo, Dr. Richard Agnew and Dr. John Odell bring a variety of experience and diversity to the team. Surgeries range from the routine, such as coronary artery bypass grafting including off-pump procedures and heart valve replacement and repair, to MAZE procedures, implanting ventricular assisted devices, heart and lung transplants, aortic root surgery, thoracic aneurism repair, ventricular remodeling and minimally invasive heart procedures. Later this year, robotic- assisted heart surgery will be done.
Wally Caldwell, a registered nurse and coordinator of Cardiac/Vascular Surgery, says one of the joys of working at Mayo Clinic is that all physicians work for the institution and share the same core values as the staff. This adds to the quality of care and coordination within the OR.
Wally’s greatest inspiration is when he is able to visit with the patients after surgery and witness their progress in recovery. “There are many times where the patient can’t breathe, and two days after surgery, they are talking and eating," he says. Patients are what bring him to work everyday, he says.
When asked how he would like to make his mark at Mayo Clinic, he recalled his first day of work when a colleague gave him the advice to “try to make Mayo a better place when you retire than it was when you started.”
To become a member of this wonderful team or learn more about our staff, visit our website at www.mayoclinic.org/jobs-jax/.
Written by Jennifer Lineburg, recruitment coordinator at the Florida campus. Information given by Wally Caldwell, registered nurse and coordinator of Cardiac/Vascular Surgery at the hospital.
