Greenwich residents needing non-emergency heart procedures will no longer have to travel to another hospital for care.

Greenwich Hospital announced on Tuesday, July 21, that the Connecticut Department of Public Health approved its Certificate of Need application to perform elective coronary angioplasty, known formally as percutaneous coronary intervention, or PCI. The procedure opens narrowed or blocked arteries to restore blood flow to the heart.

The 206-bed hospital, part of the Yale New Haven Health System, has performed emergency angioplasty for more than 20 years. Until the state's approval, patients who needed a scheduled version of the same procedure had to be transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital or another facility for treatment.

"This approval allows us to provide a more complete continuum of cardiovascular care for our patients," said Dr. Christopher Howes, chief of cardiology at Greenwich Hospital and associate professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. "Our experienced cardiac team already delivers outstanding emergency PCI care, and we are excited to expand those services to better meet the growing needs of the communities we serve."

The change eliminates what had been a persistent gap. State records show Greenwich Hospital filed multiple Certificate of Need applications between 2008 and 2014 seeking permission to add elective PCI. Each was denied because regulators determined the area's existing cardiac programs met public need. A 2015 Department of Public Health report documented that in fiscal year 2014, Greenwich transferred 12 cardiology patients to other hospitals after emergency procedures, with 10 of those going to Yale-New Haven.

What changed between the documented 2014 denials and this year's approval is not detailed in available public records.

For patients, the practical difference is straightforward: a Greenwich resident diagnosed with a blocked artery during a catheterization can now have the blockage treated in the same visit, by the same team, without a second hospital trip or repeated testing.

The hospital said the elective PCI program will operate out of its existing cardiac catheterization labs using current equipment and staff. No new construction or capital investment is required.

Greenwich Hospital has not set a start date for elective PCI procedures.