Waterbury (CT) Hospital retains heart center

Advanced care for heart attack and other cardiac patients will continue to be offered in Waterbury, CT, the state's top hospital regulator has ruled. The Heart Center of Greater Waterbury has been threatened with closure since July, when its temporary state permit to operate expred. During its three-year trial period, the center had fallen short of performing the number of open heart surgeries required by the state to earn permanent approval. During a four-hour hearing in Hartford, patients, doctors, hospital administrators, and local officials pleaded for a six-month extension, arguing that patients would die if they had to travel from Waterbury to New Haven or Bridgeport for heart procedures.