Medical City Weatherford expands access to advanced heart and lung care

Weatherford — Medical City Weatherford has launched a new program to improve access to advanced care for patients with severe heart and lung failure. The hospital's new ECMO Activation Center (EAC) will help connect patients in Parker County and surrounding communities with specialized treatment when they need it most, closer to home.

Clinical staff are now equipped to identify, initiate and stabilize patients who may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) before transferring to a comprehensive ECMO center. ECMO is an advanced form of life support that temporarily takes over the work of the heart and lungs when they cannot function adequately on their own.

Through a partnership with Medical City Fort Worth's established ECMO program, Medical City Weatherford can begin ECMO support sooner for eligible patients and provide a direct pathway to ongoing specialized care.

“This new program strengthens our ability to deliver time-sensitive care for critically ill patients,” says Allen Marsh, CEO of Medical City Weatherford. “Working with Medical City Fort Worth improves care team coordination and expands access to specialized heart and lung support across our region.”

The program brings together emergency department teams, intensive care specialists, emergency medical services (EMS) partners and physicians to identify eligible patients quickly and coordinate transfer when needed.

Medical City Weatherford is the first ECMO Activation Center within Medical City Healthcare.