John Walsh, MD, a board certified Florida Hospital Flagler Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgeon, has been designated as a Fistula First Champion Surgeon by the Fistula First Breakthrough Initiative (FFBI).
The FFBI is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sponsored quality initiative that is designed to increase statewide arteriovenous fistula (AVF) placement rates to a rate of 66% by 2009.
AVFs are considered the gold standard for vascular access. An AVF is the surgical connection of an artery to a vein, usually in the forearm or arm, created in patients requiring maintenance hemodialysis.
According to the FFBI, AVFs should be considered first for every patient needing hemodialysis. AVFs last longer, need less rework or repairs, and are associated with lower rates of infection, hospitalization and death.
The FFBI asked Florida dialysis providers that had achieved an AVF placement rate of 60% or greater for 2008’s third quarter to identify those surgeons that have assisted them in reaching this impressive achievement. Palm Coast Dialysis nominated Dr. Walsh as being an integral component in their achievement of high AVF placement rates and recognized him for his outstanding efforts to increase the utilization of AVF for vascular access.