The Hottest Ticket in Town – Open Heart Surgery

Crowds of teenagers from all over Broward County gathered at Memorial Regional Hospital in excited anticipation on recent Wednesday morning. Surprisingly, the draw wasn’t a rock concert, the release of a video game or the debut of a new movie. Instead, the “drama” involved a videoconference, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at open heart surgery as it unfolded.

Dr. Gary Allen, Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery, was performing bypass surgery in the hospital’s second floor operating room while Dr. Michael Cortelli, cardiac surgeon, was in the hospital’s auditorium fielding questions from the enthralled audience–more than 200 students representing allied health assisting programs from six Broward County public schools. At the same time, students at 15 other schools were participating from their own classrooms via the video conference bridge.

As Dr. Gary Allen performs open heart surgery, Dr. Michael Cortelli explains the procedure to Broward County students in the audience and in classrooms around the county.

“We arranged it so that everyone in both the on-site and remote locations was able to interact with the operating room throughout surgery,” explained Maribel Diaz, Business Development Coordinator, Memorial Cardiovascular Institute. “The students took full advantage of this opportunity and asked both Dr. Allen and Dr. Cortelli many questions.”

The web-streaming event was made possible through BECON (Broward Education Communications Network) Distance Learning Outreach. Diaz added, “This is the first event of this kind that the Memorial Healthcare System has ever hosted. Based on the tremendous response we got from the students and Broward Schools, it’s sure to be the first of many.”