Military experience at the heart of Reston Hospital's new heart program
When Reston Hospital in Northern Virginia launches a new heart surgery program in just a few weeks, it will be led by a military veteran who brings lessons learned from 35 years of service and four combat deployments.
Dr. William A. Cooper, a nationally recognized cardiothoracic surgeon and decorated U.S. Army veteran, joined Reston in August as medical director of cardiovascular surgery.
It won’t be the first heart surgery program that Dr. Cooper has built from the ground up. He previously founded one of the Southeast’s most successful heart surgery programs at WellStar Health System in Georgia. Under his leadership, that program earned consistent 3-star ratings from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons — the highest recognition for surgical quality and outcomes.
A retired Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Command and war surgeon, Dr. Cooper credits much of leadership his success and reputation for discipline, integrity and excellence to his military background.
Dr. Cooper did his basic training as a junior in high school and his advanced training senior year before joining the U.S. Army Reserve when he set off for college and medical school. It was one morning during training while completing his residency that he learned a lesson that would stick with him.
“A general came in and briefed us, and he said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I have to tell you this: It's not a matter of if, but when, you’re going to find yourself in a war zone somewhere around the world. That is why we train. And you will be ready.”
That moment came for Dr. Cooper on Christmas Day in 2003 when he found himself in Al Asad, Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“So I was really thankful for that lesson, because I was ready,” he said. “Being ready is not just showing up because you've been told you're a doctor or a surgeon or a nurse and you think you’ll be able to perform in that environment. Absolutely wrong. You’ll be able to perform because you've trained, you’ve drilled you've gone over every scenario again and again.”
That is the mentality Dr. Cooper has brought to his medical career and will be at the core of Reston Hospital’s new heart surgery program, which he calls a “service mission.”
“I really am very fortunate to have been a part of it,” he said of his military experience. “Because it gave me that discipline that isn’t about forcing yourself to do something - it's about having the patience and passion to make sure you're going to get it right when the time comes to perform.”