High-Tech, High-Touch Healthcare in Jackson, TN: Leading the Way in Advanced Medical Care

David Adkins

Beyond all the essential services patients can expect from local health care providers in and around Jackson, advanced technologies and procedures take exceptional care to the next level and keep it all close to home. 

Jackson: The Nation’s First 4-Minute City

Thanks to a collaboration among West Tennessee Healthcare, the City of Jackson and local nonprofit Friends of Heart, and in partnership with Avive Solutions, Jackson is on track to become the first 4-Minute City™ in the nation. 

The program’s goal is to put an automated external defibrillator (AED) within four minutes of every household in the area. This program achieves this by providing portable AEDs to a trained community care team. The team is made up of off-duty fire personnel, police, first responders, nurses and laypeople. These team members are then deployed quickly to assist neighbors experiencing cardiac arrest. 

“Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of sudden death among those over age 40 and student-athletes,” says Tracey McKnight, executive director of Friends of Heart. “We can lower the statistics on SCA deaths in Jackson and be a leading example for the nation through this model.” 

McKnight says Jackson was a prime candidate for this concept for several reasons. The willingness of city officials, the health care system and Friends of Heart to work together for this important cause. 

“We are working together to increase the SCA survival rate by proactively empowering people with reliable, life-saving tools,” she says. 

Friends of Heart is a program dedicated to improving the quality of heart and vascular care in West Tennessee. To date, they have currently deployed 170 of its 250 AEDs, with the remainder to be activated in 2024. 

“Ultimately,” McKnight says, “our vision is to expand our model through the surrounding counties, with every household being within four minutes of a life-saving device.” 

Avive

Robotic Heart Surgery: Bringing Cutting-Edge Care to the Community

When it comes to hearts, the cardiothoracic surgery team at West Tennessee Healthcare’s flagship Jackson-Madison County General Hospital continues to expand the kinds of cutting-edge procedures it can make available to patients close to home. A little more than a year ago, the provider launched minimal-access robotic-assisted bypass surgery. More recently, the team introduced robotic heart valve surgery, too.

“Having minimally invasive heart surgery in Jackson really advances local care for the community,” says Dr. Hetal Patel, a cardiothoracic surgeon. “Most residents of Jackson would have to travel two hours to Nashville to even consider this type of surgery. Now, this cutting-edge boutique surgery is available here from local surgeons with familiar faces.” 

Patel says the patient response has been very positive. So far, patients as young as 37 and older than 80 have regained their lives thanks to the procedure. 

“They are thankful to enjoy a shorter recovery than the traditional operation,” he says. 

Innovation Improves Lives

Jackson-Madison County General Hospital also utilizes advanced technology in its interventional radiology programs. 

Neurothrombectomy, also called stroke revascularization, is performed to remove clots in the arteries of the brain and neck. 

“These procedures are done within 90 minutes of the acute onset of stroke symptoms, such as extremity weakness or paralysis, loss of speech and facial droop. If successful, the patient could have full return of function as prior to the stroke,” says Keith Garner, executive director of imaging services at West Tennessee Healthcare. 

Garner says another procedure, venous thromboembolism, removes clots from deep veins for patients with pulmonary embolism or lower extremity venous clots and can prevent a lifetime of disease and potential death. 

Other life-changing tools include Intracept® facet nerve radiofrequency ablation, a procedure that can relieve patients with chronic low back pain. For men with benign prostate hypertrophy, Garner says prostate arterial embolization provides an alternative treatment. The treatment is much less invasive than the removal of some or all of the prostate. 

“Our radiology group has been part of West Tennessee Healthcare for over 50 years, providing high quality, effective imaging services,” Garner says. “We have always been able to perform new and innovative procedures not only in our interventional radiology setting but also with other modalities within imaging such as CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine and mammography.” 

The impact of this technology is not unnoticed. 

“We have many patients who are grateful they are able to have world-class care so close to home,” Garner says. 

Meet the Doctor: Dr. Jonathan Davis

Learn about the journey of Dr. Jonathan Davis. From locum ICU physician to dedicated community advocate, Davis shares his experiences and insights on life and work in Jackson. Today, Davis is a pulmonologist at West Tennessee Medical Group.