On June 14, The Texas Heart Institute’s School of Perfusion Technology congratulated the eight June 2024 graduates of its long-standing post-baccalaureate training program. Perfusion program leaders Deborah Lowery Adams, MA, LP, CCP, and Kathleen Kibler, LP, CCP, celebrated the milestone with the graduates’ families, fellow students, and hospital colleagues during the ceremony in the Denton A. Cooley Auditorium.

The Texas Heart Institute School of Perfusion Technology—the first accredited school of its kind in the United States—has been educating cardiovascular care professionals for over 50 years. The post-baccalaureate certificate program trains students to operate the equipment needed to support patients during open-heart surgical procedures. Students gain extensive experience in the operating room, becoming experts in life-support methods such as cardiopulmonary bypass and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and preparing them for integral roles in cardiovascular surgery suites and critical-care medicine departments.

Joseph G. Rogers, MD, President and CEO, welcomed the graduates and their families and congratulated them on joining the nearly 1,000 alumni of the Perfusion School. He praised the foresight of Institute founder Denton A. Cooley, MD, for creating the school and described Dr. Cooley’s deep appreciation for excellence in team-based patient care. “Our job is to collectively take that legacy and stand on Dr. Cooley’s shoulders,” he said. Dr. Rogers emphasized the new graduates’ abilities to be immediate contributors to the care teams they will join, sharing, “You are committed to a purpose…there is nothing more sacred than taking care of someone in challenging health circumstances.” He urged them to keep learning from their peers and their students, be mentors, and ask the hard questions that will change clinical practice.

Joseph G. Timpa, CCP, FPP, cardiovascular perfusionist and Director of Cardiovascular Perfusion Services and ECMO at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham, delivered the commencement address. He is the father of June 2024 graduate Joseph Michael Timpa and Class of June 2025 student Nicholas Timpa. He urged the graduates to view perfusion as “not just a profession, but a service to our patients” and to recognize their unique position to help patients who are critically ill. He also stressed the importance of maintaining “confident humility.” Timpa challenged the graduates to continue to learn, be assets to their multidisciplinary teams, remain open to new ways of doing things, and be leaders. “Grow others around you,” he encouraged.

Adams echoed Timpa’s message, reminding the graduates to “stay humble and stay kind.”

Several of the June 2024 graduates have already been engaged in professional activities beyond their immediate perfusion community. Joseph Michael Timpa was recognized by the American Academy of Perfusion (AACP) for his outstanding presentation at the Academy meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, in February 2024. His presentation entitled “Bivalirudin: An Anticoagulation Alternative for Cardiopulmonary Bypass” earned him the 2024 Aaron G. Hill Student Paper Presentation Award, one of the $500 presentation awards given by the Academy to students. He also presented at the Texas State Society, in Houston in October 2023.

Michael Venegas-Anderson served as The Institute’s student ambassador to the AACP for 2023-2024, participated in fundraising for students to attend the national conference and represented The Institute at the conference held in Nashville. Colin Heinl served on the American Society of Extracorporeal Technology (AmSECT) student council and represented The Institute at the annual international AmSECT conference in March 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Zachary A. Redding is the Valedictorian of the June 2024 class.

The graduates have accepted perfusionist positions across the United States.

June 2024 Graduates

Zachary Bixler
Louisville Perfusion Services
Louisville, Kentucky

Colin Heinl
UC Health Medical Center
Loveland, Colorado

Kelsi Marie Jones
Texas Perfusion Associates
San Antonio, Texas

Zachary A. Redding
Progressive Perfusion Services
Montgomery, Alabama

Robert L. Reed
UAB Health System
Birmingham, Alabama

Joseph Michael Timpa
Comprehensive Care Services
Birmingham, Alabama

Michael Venegas-Anderson
Louisville Perfusion Services
Louisville, Kentucky

Brooke Kelsey Wilcox
Comprehensive Care Services
Austin, Texas

View Photos From the Celebration

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About The Texas Heart Institute School of Perfusion Technology

The Texas Heart Institute School of Perfusion is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) upon the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee for Perfusion Education (ACPE), and graduates are eligible to become a Certified Clinical Perfusionist after they take the national certification examination, which is given by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion.

About The Texas Heart Institute Education Programs

The Texas Heart Institute’s commitment to education sets it apart from other major cardiovascular centers. The Institute’s educational activities include postdoctoral and allied training programs, seminars, symposia, grand rounds, scientific publications, and public education outreach. Visitors will find the Wallace D. Wilson Museum with educational displays, historic items covering scientific breakthroughs in treating heart disease, and the Celebration of Hearts art collection.

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