Jersey Shore University Medical Center Opens Advanced Cardiac Cath Lab

The new lab is part of phase one of a more than $45 million cardiovascular expansion project

Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center opened a new cardiac catheterization laboratory in February. The lab upgrades the academic medical center's services treating heart disease. It is equipped with GE Healthcare's advanced Innova IGS 520 image-guided system, providing physicians with technology to perform a range of leading edge cardiovascular and electrophysiology, diagnostic and interventional procedures.

"The new state-of-the-art Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is the first upgrade and step towards fulfilling our mission in providing the highest-level cardiac care in the state. It gives our outstanding physicians and staff the tools they need to perform the most complex procedures at the highest quality," said Renato Apolito, M.D., medical director of cardiac catheterization, Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Cardiac specialists at the medical center diagnose and treat coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure, heart attack, abnormal heart rhythms, and vascular disease, among other cardiovascular diseases.

"This cath lab is part of phase one in a comprehensive, and more than $45 million, invasive cardiovascular expansion project, tentatively to be completed July 2023," said Elizabeth A. Maiorana, MBA, MSN, R.N., CCCC, vice president, Care Transformation Services, Cardiovascular, Hackensack Meridian Health. "It involves the construction of a cardiovascular dedicated suite, encompassing an entire floor of the medical center, and a technological upgrade of eight cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology labs."

Thousands of diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures are performed at the academic medical center each year, including advanced transcatheter aortic valve replacement and transcatheter mitral valve repair, and volume continues to grow. "Jersey Shore provides the only open and minimally invasive heart surgery program in Monmouth and Ocean counties, as well as cardiac technology and treatment options unavailable anywhere else in the region," said Vito Buccellato, MPA, LNHA, chief hospital executive, Jersey Shore University Medical Center. "As the volume of patients we treat for heart disease continues to grow in the future, this expansion allows us to provide an ideal space for our team members and physicians, a comforting area to enhance patient and family experience, and provides the infrastructure needed to give us flexibility in adding new technologies."

"Jersey Shore has an incredible team of cardiologists, echocardiographers, electrophysiologists, interventional cardiologists, and other experts, who continue to push the boundaries of cardiovascular treatment," said Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, regional president, Southern Market, Hackensack Meridian Health. "Annually, our academic medical center performs the second highest volume of diagnostic and interventional cardiac procedures in New Jersey, that wealth of experience gives our patients confidence they are receiving world-class care, close to home."

For more information, visit www.jerseyshoreuniversitymedicalcenter.com/services/cardiovascular-program/. For a free physician referral, call 800-560-9990.