University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics’ Extracorporeal Life Support Center has again received the Gold Level ELSO Award for Excellence in Life Support from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO). The award recognizes programs that distinguish themselves by having processes, procedures and systems in place that promote excellence and exceptional care. The Gold Level status is valid through 2023.

This is at least the third time the Iowa center has been awarded the Gold Level designation. As an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) training center, University of Iowa provides hands-on and didactic training for medical professionals from across the country and the world. Patients who require ECMO typically are critically ill with complex and severe respiratory and/or cardiovascular health problems. ECMO requires 24/7 bedside monitoring. 

In October, Lovkesh Arora, MBBS, MD, was named Medical Director for the ECMO Program at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics' Heart and Vascular Center. He is the first anesthesiologist to head the ECMO team at Iowa. The ECMO team is part of the Extracorporeal Life Support Services division, which comprises physicians, nurses, and other providers from various intensive care units and works closely with the cardiothoracic surgery and heart failure divisions.