I
t
was as if Heath McCarver, MD, was born in the fast lane. When it came to
completing some of life’s most important milestones, he seemed to zip by
everyone else quickly and got there early. Born in New Mexico, he moved with
his Air Force dad, nurse mother, and older brother seventeen times before
the sixth grade. They finally parked the family in Texarkana, Arkansas and
settled there until he graduated from high school. It was in Texarkana,
while still in high school, that he found two passions that lasted a
lifetime. First in the wife, Karen, whom he met as a high school sophomore,
and second, his career in medicine which he began as a junior. His
mother’s career as a nurse rubbed off on him so he knew early on that he
wanted to go into nursing. When he got the itch in high school to get his
life started and earn real money, he enrolled in the two year RN program at
the local college while he was still a junior in high school. Therefore,
during the summer he was eighteen, he picked up two degrees, his high school
degree and his nursing degree. Soon afterward, he was working as an RN at
various hospitals including a stint as a nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital in
Little Rock, where he still works as an anesthesiologist. So much for life
in the fast lane.
t
was as if Heath McCarver, MD, was born in the fast lane. When it came to
completing some of life’s most important milestones, he seemed to zip by
everyone else quickly and got there early. Born in New Mexico, he moved with
his Air Force dad, nurse mother, and older brother seventeen times before
the sixth grade. They finally parked the family in Texarkana, Arkansas and
settled there until he graduated from high school. It was in Texarkana,
while still in high school, that he found two passions that lasted a
lifetime. First in the wife, Karen, whom he met as a high school sophomore,
and second, his career in medicine which he began as a junior. His
mother’s career as a nurse rubbed off on him so he knew early on that he
wanted to go into nursing. When he got the itch in high school to get his
life started and earn real money, he enrolled in the two year RN program at
the local college while he was still a junior in high school. Therefore,
during the summer he was eighteen, he picked up two degrees, his high school
degree and his nursing degree. Soon afterward, he was working as an RN at
various hospitals including a stint as a nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital in
Little Rock, where he still works as an anesthesiologist. So much for life
in the fast lane.
He is proudest that he worked all the way
through medical school at the University of Arkansas, the only student who
was able to do so, while also becoming chief resident. But it was during
Heath’s career as a nurse at Arkansas Heart Hospital that led to his
desire to pursue anesthesiology as a career. He watched and learned from
other doctors and staff who mentored him through the process. Since an
anesthesiologist controls all aspects of the patient’s vital signs before,
during and after surgery, Heath was attracted to the technical aspects of
the job – the actual procedures. Given that every muscle in the body is
paralyzed within 6 seconds under anesthesia, his early training to always
“pay attention” when treating patients still holds its spell.
But working at Heart Hospital in itself is
rewarding and doctors (as well as patients) tend to thrive there. Because
it’s ranked number one in the state for patient care and one of the top
heart hospitals in the nation, Heath simply finds it a great place to work.
He says it is because it is managed by physicians so there’s less red
tape, faster time to implement new technologies, patients recover faster,
and it attracts like minded doctors. The hospital focuses on the patient’s
health using the newest technologies and the most current surgical
techniques, so he appreciates how all of the cylinders fire in unison. He is
a part of the team assigned to each patient so he is intricately involved in
their day to day care.
New imaging technology, such as the Siemens
SOMATOM Definition AS 128-Slice CT scanner has improved patient care so
doctors are able to clearly pin-point heart trauma prior to surgery.
Arkansas Heart Hospital was the first facility in the state to introduce
this cutting edge technology which allows doctors to see a more detailed
view of the heart or other organs than a traditional CT scan. However,
while the technology has moved toward better screening and diagnosing of
patients, it actually has moved toward more invasive surgeries rather than
less invasive. Heart surgeries have gravitated to more “hands on” than
ever before. However, the technology allows doctors to pin-point more
accurately prior to surgery what tissue needs attention, rendering faster
recovery for the patients post surgery.
Outside of work, his life is full with his wife
Karen and three sons; Hudson, 13, Grayson, 9, and Keegan, 6. Typical of life
in the fast lane, he runs daily but also relaxes at his lake house where
they enjoy boating and water skiing. Karen, who has a degree in marketing,
is the artistic one. She’s a full time mother and homemaker and stays
involved with their kids. The middle son, Grayson, has autism so they are
involved in numerous organizations dedicated to improving the lives of
autistic children. Now 39, married for 16 years, with 3 kids, and involved
in medicine since he graduated from high school, Heath is rooted in work
that he loves and finds fulfilling, at a hospital where he has worked in
some capacity for most of his adult life. He doesn’t see himself as anyone
special, crediting his success to his parents and the upbringing they
provided. While it is his job to put patients to sleep while surgeons fix
their hearts, and then wake them up afterwards, his favorite part of the job
is watching them walk out the door happier, healthier people. Since 90
percent of the patients at Heart Hospital are heart patients, they
experience an immediate improvement after surgery. True to form, even in his
practice, he likes it when things move quickly.