Adventist Health and Rideout Electrophysiology Program Surpasses 500th Heart Ablation Procedure

When Dr. R.P. Singh joined Adventist Health and Rideout in January 2021, his vision aligned seamlessly with the hospital’s aspirations for a robust set of cardiovascular services. Together, they aimed to establish an outcome-driven, high quality heart rhythm program that the community could rely on.

Three years later, Adventist Health and Rideout is proud to announce that its electrophysiology program, led by Dr. Singh, has successfully completed over 500 heart ablations, addressing more than 600 heart arrhythmias in the process. Notably, the program’s complication rate stands at a remarkable 0.4%, significantly below the national average of 4.5% for ablation procedures.

Currently, the program’s catheterization (cath) laboratory is the only facility in the greater Sacramento region offering completely fluoroscopy-free procedures and is one of the few accredited by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in the state.

“I feel blessed to have the resources to provide this level of advanced care for our local community,” said Dr. Singh, Medical Director of Adventist Health and Rideout’s electrophysiology program. “Our achievements are a testament to our team’s hard work and dedication to our patients.”

Reaching these milestones required significant effort from all team members involved in the program. Eric Cooper, Adventist Health and Rideout’s Director of Cardiovascular Services, said it began with the hospital’s commitment to establishing an electrophysiology program, followed by extensive staff training to develop the necessary skills to carry out ablation procedures.

The collaborative effort among the program’s lab team, physician assistant Ebtesam “Ebby” Gerges, PA-C and Dr. Singh, along with the full support from hospital administration, has culminated in an exemplary electrophysiology program.

“At every touch point along the arrhythmia service line, we are performing at a high level,” Cooper said. “It is a joint effort between Dr. Singh’s office, the team in the cath lab, all the way up to our quality people.”

“It shows the dedication to our patients as they go through the full process. They feel like they are getting taken care of. That is huge for this community.”

Dr. Singh noted that Gerges represents a critical component of the team. From overseeing procedures to leading quality measures, patient follow-ups and much more, Gerges is a constant, caring presence throughout each step of a patient’s journey through the electrophysiology program.

Gerges is one of several key team members that help make the program successful. Irene Landa, a registered nurse who has been with Adventist Health and Rideout’s cath lab for 11 years, joined the electrophysiology program shortly after its inception in May 2021.

“Three years ago, we had nothing like this, and we had a great need for it in the community,” she said. “It’s amazing to see the difference an exceptional program can make. Now, people don’t have to travel two or three hours for this care. Seeing how we help these patients motivates us to keep going.”

Today, Dr. Singh remains focused not on the numbers but on continually improving the level of care provided to the community. He attributes the program's success to his dedicated team.

“Everyone is invested in this community,” Dr. Singh said. “Patients have told us they feel like we are family, because of how attuned we are to each other and our purpose.”

“Having a team so committed to providing quality care is a blessing for our community, and for us. I truly look forward to expanding our program and improving the lives of our patients for years to come.”