Longest running cardiac program in Palm Beach County achieves new personal best!
February 7, 2022 – Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, part of the Palm Beach Health Network, celebrates a major milestone in the history of its cardiac program, as the hospital completes over 19,000 open-heart surgeries. As the first hospital in Palm Beach County to start an open-heart surgery program, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center continues to provide innovative, top quality cardiac care to the community.
“Experience counts, and that’s what this achievement represents as an important part of the growth of our cardiac program for almost 40 years,” said Teresa Urquhart, chief executive officer for Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “When it comes to the heart, we remain focused on advancing the level of care we provide to our patients by adding some of the newest and latest cardiac procedures to our program.”
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center started its open-heart program in 1983, with cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr. Richard Faro performing the first procedure. Since then, the hospital has been recognized nationally for its cardiac care, and continues to be at the forefront of pioneering some of the latest medical procedures in the area for heart patients.
“This isn’t just our 1000th, 5000th, or even 10,000th heart surgery. It’s our 19,000th, and the success of this program was built upon the experience, skill and dedication of our team to provide the latest cardiac treatments for our patients,” said Dr. Neerav Shah, chief of cardiology at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. “We are proud of what we have accomplished so far, and we will continue to be here to bring many more firsts to the communities we serve.”
Other cardiac achievements of the hospital include:
- More than 100,000 cardiac catheterizations
- Over 700 TAVR’s
- Over 275 Mitraclips
- Over 50 convergent procedures
- Over 50 minimally invasive cardiac surgeries
For more information about our cardiac services and program, go to www.pbgmc.com or call 561-622-1411,
About Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center:
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is a 199-bed acute care hospital serving the medical and healthcare needs of Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast for over 50 years. The hospital was the first in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to perform open-heart surgery and has since remained one of the area’s leading heart hospitals, having performed over 19,000 open-heart surgeries and more than 100,000 cardiac catheterizations to date.
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center offers comprehensive cardiac care and advanced minimally-invasive procedures including Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), MitraClip, and Watchman. The hospital is the first in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin County to adopt the minimally invasive convergent approach to treat patients with atrial fibrillation. The hospital’s outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program is designed for people recovering from a heart attack, coronary bypass or valve surgery, and angioplasty or stent procedures.
Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center offers advanced orthopedic care to our community. Some of the services offered include: total joint replacements for hip, knee and shoulder, sports medicine, arthroscopy, podiatry, fracture management and inpatient/outpatient rehabilitation. In 2021, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center utilized the CORI robotic-assisted surgical system to perform knee replacements.
Additional services include an Advanced Certified Primary Stroke Center, diagnostic imaging, general and robotic surgery, an Epilepsy Program and 24-hour emergency care. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center’s Emergency Department offers all private rooms and is equipped with technology to help increase patient comfort, reduce wait times and provide up-to-the-minute patient status, as well as immediate access to film-based radiological images, interpretations and related data. The hospital’s Epilepsy Program is the first of its kind in Palm Beach County to have a dedicated Epilepsy Monitoring Unit that is equipped with long-term video monitoring, a specialized form of an EEG for patients who suffer from seizures. The hospital acquired the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgical System which can be used across a spectrum of minimally-invasive procedures such as cardiovascular, colorectal, general surgery, gynecology, urology and more.
The hospital was the recipient of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus from 2015 – 2021, and also was named a High Performance Hospital for COPD and stroke in U.S. News and World Report’s 2021-2022 Best Hospitals. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center was also named as the best heart center in Palm County from the Palm Beach Post 2020 Best of Palm Beach County Awards. For more information or for a complimentary physician referral, please call (833)-619-8831 or visit www.pbgmc.com.
