The choice for heart and vascular care is clear
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital has long been your trusted location for better heart, lung and vascular health. When our doors opened in 2004, the Ohio State Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital was the nation’s first hospital dedicated to comprehensive cardiovascular care.
Twenty years later, our commitment remains the same — to provide the best cardiovascular care available to patients across Ohio and around the world.
Celebrating 20 years of excellence in patient care
As one of the nation’s top academic health centers, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s mission is to improve people’s lives through research, education and patient care. At the Ohio State Ross Heart Hospital, our strong interdisciplinary teamwork and collaboration allow us to tackle the unique complexity of cardiovascular health.
From November 2024 through early 2025, we’ll celebrate the 20th anniversary of the opening of Ross Heart Hospital and the innovative work that has occurred — and continues to happen every day — in cardiovascular care at Ohio State.
High ranks for Ross Heart Hospital
In 2024, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals list ranked the Ohio State Ross Heart Hospital as the top-ranked heart hospital for adults in central Ohio. In addition:
- Our cardiology & heart surgery programs are ranked #43 in the nation.
- Pulmonology & lung surgery programs ranked as #27 in the nation.
- Four of our heart surgery specialties were listed as high-performing: abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, aortic valve surgery, heart attack and heart failure.
20 years of cardiovascular care advancements save more lives
Five big leaps in the last 20 years take heart and vascular care from science fiction to standard procedure at the Ohio State Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital.
Ross Heart Hospital at a Glance
- 2004 Ross Heart Hospital opens
- 1st dedicated heart hospital in the country
- 1st Level I Cardiovascular Emergency Program in the country
- 8,000 annual patients admitted and treated in the hospital
- 150 inpatient beds for cardiovascular patients
How a vision became reality
In 1989, Ohio State’s medical center designated cardiovascular disease a “center of emphasis.” A decade later, as construction of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute wrapped up, a task force charted a course for a new, dedicated heart hospital. In 2001, this goal became a reality when Elizabeth M. Ross gifted $10 million to construct the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, in memory of her husband.
On Nov. 29, 2004, the Richard M. Ross Hospital opened its doors. Together, the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and Ross Heart Hospital combine to form The Ohio State University Heart and Vascular Center, promoting collaboration between scientists, clinicians and surgeons to be a national leader in heart and vascular research and patient care.
Timeline of the Ross Heart Hospital
Our accomplishments have been many over the past 20 years. These are only a few highlights.
1999 | Ohio State Wexner Medical Center becomes the first in the nation to perform a robotic heart procedure using the daVinci® robot. That same year, a task force is formed to explore the development of a dedicated heart hospital as construction of the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute wraps up. | |
2001 |
Elizabeth M. Ross gifts $10 million to construct the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. |
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2004
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Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital opens to the public as the nation’s first fully integrated academic hospital dedicated to comprehensive and seamless cardiovascular patient care. |
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2006 |
Central Ohio’s first implantation of CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart, which serves as a bridge to transplant. The device replaces both cardiac ventricles and all cardiac valves. |
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2007 |
Thomas Ryan, MD, joins the Ohio State Heart and Vascular Center as director. He is appointed the physician–scientist leader for the Heart and Vascular Center, uniting the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute and the Ross Heart Hospital. |
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2008 |
Ross Heart Hospital expansion is completed and includes two additional inpatient floors (60 beds added for a new total of 150 inpatient beds) and a large-capacity critical care elevator. |
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2009 |
In its first 5 years of operation, the Ross Heart Hospital experiences 141% growth in electrophysiology (EP) service, 20% growth in overall heart catheterization and interventional procedures, and 86% growth in outpatient visits.
Awarded first magnet designation from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the highest honor a hospital can receive for achievement in nursing excellence and quality patient care, achieved by less than 10% of hospitals in the nation. |
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2010 |
The Ohio State Cardiac Research Tissue Program is started, providing diseased and healthy human heart tissue for researchers, with more than 200 human hearts procured to date. |
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2012 |
First in Ohio and among only four health care institutions in the country to implement a Level I Heart and Vascular Emergency program. |
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2013 |
The Ross Heart Hospital Wellness Series is established, focusing on prevention. |
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2014 |
Elizabeth M. Ross gifts $1 million to establish the Elizabeth M. Ross Cardiovascular Nursing Education and Leadership Fund and the Elizabeth M. Ross Nursing Fellowship. It’s among the largest single gifts to further advancements in nursing care in the country. First to implant the world’s smallest, leadless heart pacemaker as part of a global clinical trial. The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (TPS) is about the size of a large vitamin pill. First in the nation to implant CardioMEMs. |
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2015 |
Our researchers identify a rare and deadly form of inherited arrhythmia and develop a method to treat it. This form of arrhythmia involving both the atria and the ventricle is extremely complex. |
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2016 |
First in Ohio and among only 17 hospitals in the nation to test Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion to potentially double the number of available lungs for transplantation. |
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2017 |
First to perform a transcatheter implant of a dime-sized device for diastolic heart failure as part of a national, randomized, multi-site clinical trial. As one of two test sites in the U.S., first to perform a new treatment for congestive heart failure designed to remove excess fluid from hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure. |
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2018 |
Performed our 500th heart transplant. |
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2019 |
A $6 million grant from the Leducq Foundation is awarded to Ohio State to lead an international consortium focused on abnormal heart rhythms. |
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2020 |
First in the U.S. to use the PulseSelect PFA System, a new atrial fibrillation device and new type of ablation technology. |
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2021 |
Our cardiothoracic surgeons are some of the first in the country to provide lung transplant for COVID-19 pneumonia. First in the U.S. to use a novel pulmonary neuromodulation system to treat patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Our heart surgeons are the first in central Ohio to use “heart in a box” technology that preserves hearts donated for transplantation up to three times longer than current methods. |
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2022 |
First in the world to randomize a patient in a clinical trial confirming the clinical benefit of a device designed to treat diastolic heart failure (RESPONDER-HF). |
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2023 |
First in the world to randomize a patient in a global clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of a device designed to alleviate heart failure symptoms (ALT-FLOW II). Designated as a Gold Level ELSO award recipient for Excellence in Life Support (ECMO). |
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2024 |
First in central Ohio to use novel heart failure therapy (CORCINCH-HF) to reduce the size of the left ventricle without open heart surgery as part of a clinical trial.
First in nation to treat a patient in the stAAAble trial investigating the Nectero Endovascular Aneurysm Stabilization Treatment (Nectero EAST®) System in patients with small to medium-sized abdominal aortic aneurysms. Recipient of the top award for “Best Cardiology Practice” featured in Columbus CEO’s Best of Business and listed on Becker’s “Hospitals and Health Systems Great Heart Programs” |