Garnet Health Expands Open-Heart Surgery Program Opens Second OR Suite

MIDDLETOWN, NY (Nov. 28, 2023) — On January 1, Garnet Health’s award-winning Peter Frommer, M.D. Heart Center announced the opening of its new open-heart surgery program, in partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The first program of its kind in Orange County, it has exceeded expectations. By providing lifesaving complex cardiothoracic procedures locally, it allows patients to receive expert heart-surgery care without the stress of traveling to New York City and being far from their loved ones.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in both Orange and Sullivan counties. In an effort to further improve and expand the care of patients with advanced cardiovascular disease, Garnet Health recently cut the ribbon on a new hybrid surgical suite located at Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, New York. This state-of-the-art OR suite is equipped with the most advanced medical imaging technology, which allows surgeons and interventional cardiologists greater flexibility to orchestrate and perform open, minimally invasive and catheter-based cardiac procedures. 

“Our newest cardiothoracic surgical suite can handle every conceivable surgical approach and even ‘hybrid’ combinations of different approaches,” said Michael Argenziano, MD, FACS, Garnet Health’s cardiothoracic lead surgeon and Medical Director, who also serves as Professor and Associate Chief of the Division of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “This allows for the safest, least invasive and most effective surgical procedures—leading to the best outcomes for patients.”

The opening of a second operating room for cardiothoracic procedures offers more capacity to care for our patients. “The hybrid operating room takes us to the next level in providing the most advanced care available anywhere,” said Rose Baczewski, Garnet Health’s Chief Clinical Officer. “We know hearts heal better at home and near family, and now more Orange and Sullivan County residents in need of lifechanging and lifesaving cardiothoracic procedures can receive the care they need right here.”
With the addition of the new OR suite, Garnet Health’s highly skilled and expertly trained clinical team can now treat patients less invasively by combining catheter-based and surgical procedures, thereby shortening a patient’s time in the operating room and improving their experience. 

Cardiothoracic surgery procedures performed include: 

• Coronary artery bypass grafting 
• Aortic valve replacement 
• Mitral valve replacement 
• Mitral valve repair 
• Thoracic aortic aneurysm repair 
• Maze procedure for atrial fibrillation 
• Left atrial appendage ligation 
• Heart tumor resection
• Transcatheter aortic valve replacement
• Transcatheter treatment of arterial and venous disorders

If you are concerned about your heart health, see your cardiologist. If you do not have a cardiologist, call (845) 333-7575 or visit garnethealth.org to make an appointment with a Garnet Health Doctors cardiologist. 

Learn more about Garnet Health’s open-heart surgery program by visiting garnethealth.org/heartsurgery.
 

About Garnet Health

Garnet Health is a New York State not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Middletown, New York, approximately 60 miles northwest of New York City. It is the corporate parent of Garnet Health Medical Center, Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills, Garnet Health Doctors, Garnet Health Urgent Care, Garnet Health Foundation and Garnet Health Foundation – Catskills. Garnet Health is dedicated to developing specialty services, medical programs and needed healthcare services that allow residents to remain close to home to receive quality care.

Providing healthcare to over 500,000 residents in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties, Garnet Health was designed to improve the quality, stability and efficiency of healthcare services in the mid-Hudson and Catskills region. Garnet Health employs more than 4,000 professionals and over 850 medical staff members. An academic affiliate of the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Garnet Health retains compassionate professionals who continually strive toward the hospital’s mission to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional healthcare. To learn more about Garnet Health, visit garnethealth.org