The open heart program at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center began with dramatic, life-saving emergency surgery on November 9, 1983. It has been saving lives ever since!
PBGMC was granted a certificate of need for its open heart program in 1983. Paving the way for the open heart program was the hospitals cardiac catheterization laboratory which opened in March 1982 and treated over 250 patients its first year. Richard Faro, M.D., was the first Medical Director of the program and he came to PBGMC from the University of Florida in Gainesville. His partner, Joseph Motta, M.D., joined him a few months later. It was the first open heart program in Palm Beach County and meant that patients living in Palm Beach, Martin, Okeechobee, Indian River and St. Lucie counties no longer had to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Miami or even as far away as Gainesville for life-saving surgery. Both Dr. Faro and Dr. Motta remain on staff and continue to perform cardiac procedures at PBGMC. The cardiac program at PBGMC boasts a wealth of experience and there are currently 5 board certified cardiothoracic surgeons on staff at the hospital, as well as 14 interventional cardiologists. While there will continue to be advancements made in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, one thing remains constant, and that is PBGMCs commitment to quality patient care. According to the Tenth Annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America Study, PBGMC ranks among the top 5% of hospitals in the nation for cardiac care. HealthGrades also awarded PBGMC the Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award in 2008 and the Cardiac Care Excellence Award in 2008 and 2007.