Happy 9th VADiversary to Bill Holland! The York man has lived nine years with a ventricular assist device (VAD). A VAD is a mechanical heart pump, an advanced treatment for heart failure implanted as a bridge to transplant or, as in Bill's case, a long-term heart failure treatment for patients who are not transplant candidates. Bill was the third patient to receive a VAD at WellSpan, which is one of only 177 programs in the entire country. Nine years is a milestone! Of 27,000 patients with a VAD like Bill's, only 720, or about 3 percent, have lived nine years.