MIDLOTHIAN, VA—Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence announces the appointment of two new members of its Board of Directors: Joaquin Cigarroa, MD, FSCAI and Michael Cowley, MD, FSCAI. Doctors Cigarroa and Cowley bolster the deep expertise and energetic commitment to quality cardiovascular care of the ACE board.
Dr. Cigarroa acts as the head of the division of Cardiology at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon and recently served as the committee chairman of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions' Quality Interventional Council from 2016-2019. Dr. Cigarroa still serves as a member of this council and also serves on the National Cardiovascular Data Registry's CathPCI Registry Steering Committee and the American College of Cardiology's Scientific Intervention Council as Chair of the Structural Heart Subcommittee. Dr. Cigarroa's extensive curriculum vitae and participation as an ACE reviewer reflects his commitment to advancing the science of quality in cardiology.
Dr. Cowley, likewise, brings a depth of experience as a leading pioneer of interventional cardiology to ACE's Board. Cowley acts as a professor of Cardiology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and served as president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions from 2003-2004. Dr. Cowley is recognized as one of the first physicians in Virginia and America to perform balloon angioplasty in 1979, having traveled to Zurich to work with the pioneer of the procedure, Dr. Andreas Gruentzig, in 1978. "Dr. Cowley was an investigator in the original NHLBI PTCA Registry, was one of ACE's earliest reviewers and had singificant input into the ACE PCI standards," said ACE Chief Medical Officer Bonnie Weiner, MD, MSEC, MBA of Cowley's contribution to ACE.
"Drs. Cigarroa and Cowley are both highly experienced cardiologists with long histories of commitment to quality," said Dr. Weiner. "Their academic careers have always upheld the need for data to demonstrate quality improvement and their clinical activities have focused on optimizing patient care and outcomes."
"As we continue to evolve the standards and expand our offerings particularly in the field of structural heart disease, both will provide meaningful insights into optimizing our processes and helping us understand how we can continue to assist facilities in improving care for patients undergoing catheter-based cardiovascular procedures," said Dr. Weiner.
Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence looks forward to the involvement and leadership of Drs. Cigarroa and Cowley in steering the advancement of quality science in cardiology. "We are ecstatic to announce the added leadership of Drs. Cigarroa and Cowley in our efforts to develop quality review and accreditation for structural heart disease procedures," said ACE Executive Director Sean McElgunn. "We hope to have more news to share in the coming months regarding those developments and ACE's continued commitment to remaining at the cutting-edge of science and procedural quality improvement in cardiovascular medicine."
Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence is an independent, physician-led organization that evaluates and monitors facilities providing cardiovascular care. Accreditation awarded by ACE means that the highest quality standards for cardiovascular and endovascular care are met by doctors and staff caring for patients undergoing diagnostic and interventional catheterization procedures.
Contact: Peggy McElgunn, Esq.
Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence
Phone: 202.657.6859
Email: peggy@cvexcel.org