Academy-award-winning actor Cliff Robertson joined forces with VAS as the host of our documentary A Matter of the Heart, which aired on The Discovery Channel.
VAS medical illustrators assisted renowned
artist Leroy Neiman as he created a famous
expressionist painting of the Diethrich surgical team.
To cap off its first 20 years, VAS co-produced PBS' broadcast of the first live open heart surgery
ever shown on international television.
In 1971 renowned heart surgeon Dr. Edward B. "Ted" Diethrich founded the Arizona Heart Institute in Phoenix. One of Diethrich's first staff hires was a young surgical cinematographer named Richard "Dick" Williams. For over 40 years Diethrich and Williams set forth to educate the public about the mysteries of the heart and the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
VAS Communications was founded.
Throughout the 1970s & 1980s Dr. Diethrich's message spread, and Hollywood and network television beckoned. VAS provided media support to the Arizona Heart team, who were featured on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and ABC's 20/20 The Heart Test.
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Steeped in Tradition
As Dr. Diethrich continued to pioneer cardiovascular medicine into the 1990s, VAS championed his cause. In the early ’90s basketball star Charles Barkley joined forces with VAS for Don’t Be a Spud, our award-winning public service announcement campaign for children.
VAS has received four Emmy Awards for our PBS series
The Latest Procedure, which features some of today's most contemporary medical treatments and is an homage to the Diethrich motto: “To Care, To Teach, To Pioneer.”
The highlights of the early 2000s included the VAS team traveling with Dr. Diethrich and his surgical team to China in an international exchange documented in the PBS film In the Heart of China with Korva Coleman.
Today VAS Communications serves
the multi-media requirements for some of
the world’s greatest healthcare institutions and corporations.
From the operating suite to the ballroom,
from the United States to the other side of the world and back, via satellite or HD IPtv,
live or recorded media,
VAS has the tools, the expertise, and the experience
for successful communication outcomes.