Florida hospital keeps up quest to do open heart surgery

Tarpon Springs, FL-based Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital lost its latest attempt to win permission to perform open heart surgeries, but the hospital may have another avenue to explore if the state agency that regulates open heart surgery centers adopts a proposed rules change. The Agency for Health Care Administration has proposed a licensing system that would allow hospitals to perform open heart surgeries once they have fulfilled a variety of requirements. Helen Ellis is now authorized to perform emergency angioplasties only, and at stake for the hospital is millions of dollars in revenue, said hospital representatives.