Trinity Health Ann Arbor has completed Michigan’s first implant of the world’s smallest device designed to help treat dangerous heart rhythm disorders.
The defibrillation lead is a thin wire that connects an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to the heart. The connection allows the ICD to monitor heart rhythms and deliver gentle pacing or a life-saving shock if a patient’s heart beats dangerously fast or stops suddenly.
At just under 1.6 millimeters wide, the FDA-approved OmniaSecure defibrillation lead from Medtronic is guided through a vein and placed in the heart’s right ventricle using a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure.
The lead is used to treat conditions such as ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and sudden cardiac arrest, and it can also provide pacing support if a patient’s heart beats too slowly.
“This advancement underscores our commitment to delivering world-class cardiovascular care to the communities we serve, ensuring patients have access to the latest innovative treatments that promote their health and well-being,” says Alonzo Lewis, president of Trinity Health Ann Arbor, Livingston, Livonia, and Oakland.
“Our heart care team is second to none and continues to set the bar for excellence, achieving outstanding outcomes and improving the quality of life for patients throughout the region.”
Trinity Health Ann Arbor has been a nationally recognized leader in comprehensive cardiovascular care for more than 50 years. Led by a dedicated team of cardiologists covering all subspecialties of cardiovascular medicine, the hospital works to introduce innovative solutions to improve the lives of patients living with heart-related health conditions.
“The advancement elevates the quality of care we provide due to the device’s small size (~65% smaller than existing defibrillation leads) and the catheter-based delivery method we employ, which taken together reduce complications, improve placement accuracy, and support the long-term reliability of the cardioverter defibrillator system, all critical factors for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest or other serious rhythm disorders,” says Dr. Mohammad-Ali Jazayeri, an electrophysiologist and medical director of the Cardiac Device Clinic at Trinity Health Ann Arbor.
“Our team is committed to introducing innovations like this that enhance safety, improve outcomes, and make a meaningful difference in the lives of our patients.”
Trinity Health Michigan is one of the state’s largest employers. With more than 24,000 full-time employees serving 29 counties, Trinity Health Michigan is composed of nine hospitals located in Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids, Howell, Livonia, Muskegon, Oakland Township, and Shelby Township, and two medical groups.
The health system has 2,314 beds and 5,446 physicians and advanced practice providers. With operating revenues of $4.16 billion, Trinity Health Michigan returns $184 million back to their local communities each year.
Together with numerous ambulatory care locations, home health and hospice agencies and 23 senior living communities owned and/or operated by Trinity Health, Trinity Health Michigan provides the full continuum of care for Michigan residents.
In Related News, Trinity Health announced it delivered $2.9 billion in programs and services during fiscal year 2025, despite what it calls significant pressures facing the health care industry.
Investments made across Trinity Health’s 25-state footprint include covering $310 million in care costs helping nearly 450,000 patients receive necessary routine and emergency care; completing more than 1 million screenings to identify patients’ food, housing and other social needs affecting their health; and generating $1.18 billion in investments in affordable housing, food access, education and employment since 2018.
Trinity Health is embeds health-related social needs screening and Community Health Workers (CHWs) into care across its national footprint:
- More than 1 million outpatients and 137,000 inpatients screened for health-related social needs
- 27.4 percent of outpatients reported at least one unmet need — most often food access, financial insecurity, and social isolation.
- 162 CHWs addressed more than 16,300 social needs connecting patients to resources for housing, food, transportation and other supports. A single social need can often take months or even a year to resolve.
“Improving health outcomes requires us to see and respond to the full context of our patients’ lives,” says Dr. Daniel J. Roth, executive vice president and CFO of Trinity Health. “By integrating social care into our clinical workflows, we are helping people avoid preventable hospitalizations, manage chronic conditions, and experience care that is dignified, culturally responsive and truly person-centered.”
Trinity Health’s FY2025 Community Impact: Working with Partners to Create Change
Select highlights from Trinity Health’s FY2025 Community Impact report include:
- Prevention and “Food Is Medicine” – With community partners Trinity Health reached nearly 165,000 eligible participants reached through the CDC’s National Diabetes Prevention Program; Food Is Medicine programs recovered more than 1 million pounds of nutritious food and provided weekly produce distribution for more than 2,500 people.
- Medication access – In partnership with pharmaceutical manufacturers, Trinity Health’s Specialty Pharmacy served 4,000+ patients, filling over 25,000 prescriptions and providing approximately $1.3 million in financial support; Dispensary of Hope provided $1.1 million worth of donated meds at no cost to qualifying patients.
- Community investing – Through partnerships with community development organizations, Trinity Health’s Community Investing Program deployed more than $44 million in low interest loans since 2018, generating over $1.18 billion in local investment — about $26.70 for every $1 Trinity Health invests — supporting 15,700+ units of affordable housing, 380 supportive housing beds, jobs and scholarships.
“From street medicine and housing outreach to food recovery, transportation and workforce training, we are working with communities to build a healthier future for everyone,” Slubowski adds.
Click to access the full report.
Trinity Health is one of the largest not-for-profit, faith-based health care systems in the nation. It is a family of 133,000 colleagues and more than 38,900 physicians and clinicians caring for communities across 25 states.
The system includes 92 hospitals, 101 continuing care locations, the second largest PACE program in the country as well as many other health and well-being services. In fiscal year 2025, the Livonia, Michigan-based health system invested $2.9 billion in its communities in the form of charity care, community benefits, and other programs and services.
For more information, visit at trinity-health.org.
