ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Mission Hospital is marking the 10th anniversary of its heart care program that uses Left Ventricular Assist Devices, or LVADs, to help patients with advanced heart failure.

Since the program began in 2015, the Asheville hospital has implanted 155 of the mechanical heart pumps, including its 100th device in 2022, hospital officials said. The devices can keep patients alive while they wait for a heart transplant or, in some cases, serve as long-term therapy.

Among those patients is John Cobb, a concert pianist who received an LVAD in 2016. His wife, Gwen Roberts, said the device gave him years he otherwise would not have had.

“He’s been here for almost nine extra years — that’s nine birthdays, nine anniversaries, nine holidays and concerts,” Roberts said during a ceremony celebrating the program’s anniversary. “He’s a concert pianist and can still do it — and we couldn’t be more grateful.”

Hospital leaders said the milestone highlights the resilience of patients and the dedication of the doctors, nurses and staff who support them.

“Having a program of this caliber in Asheville means that families in Western North Carolina don’t have to travel far from home to access life-saving care,” the hospital said in a statement.

Mission Hospital, an HCA Healthcare facility, is licensed for more than 700 beds and serves as the region’s only Level II trauma center. It also operates Mission Children’s Hospital, the only dedicated children’s hospital in Western North Carolina.