About the Joseph S. Bruno Pediatric Heart Center

Cardiovascular Services Group The Joseph S. Bruno Pediatric Heart Center at Children’s of Alabama is a comprehensive cardiac center with over 350 staff members specially trained to care for patients with congenital and acquired cardiac conditions.

The Center performs:

430 cardiac surgeries in 2023
18 heart transplants from 2020-2023
More than 800 cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology procedures performed in 2023
Over 17,812 transthoracic and 652 transesophageal echos in 2023
Over 12,294 outpatient cardiology clinic visits 2023

The Center offers:

2 dedicated cardiac operating rooms
State of the art hybrid catheterization lab/operating suite
2 catheterization labs with rotational angiography
3-dimensional electrophysiologic mapping minimizing fluoroscopic radiation
20 room CVICU with 4 dedicated CV-ECMO suites all equipped with sleeping quarters, shower, lavatory, and television with internet access for 24/7 family rooming in
16 bed Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), step-down telemetry unit
Advanced noninvasive cardiac imaging: Cardiovascular MRI and 256 slice cardiac CT scanner with minimal radiation
Active ventricular assist device and ELSO certified ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) programs
A specialized cardiac support team including respiratory therapists, child life, social work, pharmacists, dietitian, and speech, occupational and physical therapists
A comprehensive Fetal Heart Program with customized delivery plans for neonates with complex diagnoses
Extended care into adulthood through collaboration with the Adult Congenital Heart Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

Single platform of care:

The novel design of facilities involving both Children's of Alabama and University of Alabama at Birmingham embodies a visionary concept which allows the patient (whether still in the womb, a newborn, a teenager or an adult) to receive care in an environment best suited for his/her health needs. The Joseph S. Bruno Pediatric Heart Center located in the Benjamin Russell hospital for Children physically links the pediatric cardiac center with the newborn suites of the Women and Infants Center and then to the adult congenital heart surgery facilities at UAB. This provides a continuum of care for patients with congenital heart disease and allows our multidisciplinary team of specialists to move efficiently from one end of the platform to the other.