Posted On: September 1, 2021
SMC’s most exciting news this year is the new Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery program that opened on campus Sept. 1. Bringing greater access to specialized open heart, vascular and thoracic procedures for our community, Dr. R. Lewis Wilson, Jr., and Dr. Charles H. Wyatt are outstanding leaders in their specialties and will further build the program from their new office in SMC’s Heart Center.
Springhill Medical had a unique opportunity to bring these two surgeons to campus to establish a campus-based program, so a large team of medical and support personnel worked hard to get everything ready for the September launch.
“We consider this a major update to our well-established, excellent cardiac and surgical service lines,” explains Mr. Jeff St. Clair, SMC President/CEO. “We’ll have a much needed program for the community based right here on our hospital campus, and we’ll be in an incredible position to continue the growth of those services. These are the best doctors we could hope to work with for this venture, and we’re extremely excited to have them here.”
Dr. Wilson will lead the new Cardiovascular and Thoracic program at SMC. He is a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves and is board certified in surgery, thoracic surgery and vascular surgery. He is fellowship trained in general thoracic surgery and vascular surgery. He previously served as medical director of the peripheral vascular lab, cardiovascular intensive care unit, and cardiovascular surgical services at Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Tennessee. He has earned numerous honors, held several hospital appointments, and has led multiple presentations.
Dr. Wyatt is board certified in surgery and thoracic surgery and is fellowship trained in thoracic surgery. He was responsible for building hospital-based cardiovascular and thoracic programs in the Pensacola area and in Louisiana. Prior to joining Springhill Medical, he also served in leadership roles with a large health system representing Florida on the National Cardiovascular Surgery Service Line work group for the last six years and prior worked as Chief Medical Officer for a local Louisiana HCA hospital. He has earned numerous awards and honors over his lengthy medical career, has held several political appointed positions, and founded the “Be A Heartstarter” annual mass bystander CPR training event in Lafayette among his lengthy list of community work.
In addition to all of this, the physicians continue to share their wealth of knowledge in key training sessions and in published works for the medical community. Both of these multidiscipline, fellowship-trained experts are dedicated to providing comprehensive cardiac, thoracic, and vascular care at Springhill.
“Dr. Wyatt and I are committed to building a world class program right here in Mobile at Springhill Medical Center,” said Dr. Wilson. “We’ve already hit the ground running and are putting in place instrumentation, equipment and the best team to make this happen.”
They will now have increased access to the most cutting-edge technologies, including the newest approaches to complex structural heart problems, all with the ease and convenience found at a single location. Welcome to the new era of world class cardiovascular care, right here at Springhill Medical Center!
The doctors’ office, Springhill Physician Practices Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, will be based on the fourth floor of The Heart Center and can be reached at 251.340.7900.