Good Samaritan Hospital Expands Cardiac Services -- Renowned Cardiac Electrophysiologist Dr. John Zimmerman Joins Staff at Suffern, NY Hospital

In a continuing effort to meet the cardiac needs of the community, Good Samaritan Hospital announced a significant expansion of its cardiac department, adding electrophysiology services, including the insertion of pacemakers, Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillators (AICDs) and biventricular devices to the growing specialty area at the hospital. Renowned cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. John Zimmerman has joined the Good Samaritan cardiology department.

(PRWEB) June 25, 2004 -- In a continuing effort to meet the cardiac needs of the community, Good Samaritan Hospital announced a significant expansion of its cardiac department, adding electrophysiology services, including the insertion of pacemakers, Automatic Internal Cardiac Defibrillators (AICDs) and biventricular devices to the growing specialty area at the hospital. Renowned cardiac electrophysiologist Dr. John Zimmerman has joined the Good Samaritan cardiology department.

Cardiovascular electrophysiology is the study and treatment of the electrical system and impulses that cause the heart to beat and to maintain a regular pace. Electrophysiologists are specially trained cardiologists who are consulted when a disturbance to the hearts rhythm, known as a cardiac arrhythmia, is detected.

Although many cardiac arrhythmias can be treated with drugs, often the implantation of an assist device is indicated. Typically, three types of devices are utilized, the most common of which is a pacemaker, which is a small electrical generator that controls the regularity, or rhythm of the hearts beating. Other patients experience an interruption in the electrical impulse that tells the heart to beat. In these cases, an automatic internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) is indicated. In more serious cases, including congestive heart failure, a biventricular device, which provides ventricular or cardiac resynchronization therapy, is used to "pace" both of the heart's ventricles or pumping chambers. Life saving surgery of this magnitude has never been performed in Rockland County before.

The addition of Dr. Zimmerman to our staff adds significantly to Good Samaritan Hospitals cardiac program, and will immediately elevate the level of cardiac care available to the people of the Hudson Valley," notes Michael Schnieders, Executive Vice President and Administrator of Good Samaritan Hospital. We continue to grow our cardiac services and add to the number of procedures that we can perform, making it so much easier for cardiac patients and their families in that they no longer have to travel great distances, or out of state, to get the best cardiac care available."

In addition, Good Samaritan Hospital announced the opening of a Pacemaker Clinic" where patients who have had a pacemaker implanted could go for routine or emergency follow-up care.

The Electrophysiology sub-specialty within Good Samaritans cardiac department will be directed by Dr. Zimmerman, a leading cardiologist who has been active in this subspecialty for many years. Dr. Zimmerman has been credited with several innovations and improvements, including the development of the now state-of-the-art biventricular device that is now widely in use around the world.

Good Samaritan Hospital entered a new and highly beneficial era in cardiac health with the launch of primary angioplasty services at the Suffern, New York hospital late in 2003. To date, the procedure has saved the lives of scores of area residents. Adding Electrophysiology services to the hospital increases the scope of cardiac care available to Lower Hudson Valley residents, and adds to Good Samaritans growing reputation as a cardiac hospital.

Heart disease is the number one killer both nationally and in the Lower Hudson Valley. Heart attacks develop when clogged and clotted arteries impede blood flow to the heart. Heart attacks kill about 460,000 people yearly in the United Sates, according to the National Institutes of Health.

In Rockland County, although the rate of heart disease is actually 2.3% lower than the national average, the age-adjusted mortality rate resulting from chronic heart disease is 10.7% higher than the rest of the country. In Orange and Sullivan Counties, the statistics are even more sobering. Despite an incidence of chronic heart disease that is 0.3% lower than the national average in Orange County, the death rate is 26.8% higher. In Sullivan County, the death rate is 54.8% higher than the national average. These alarming statistics point out that the further you are from a center that performs interventional cardiac procedures, the more likely you are to die from a heart attack.

As we grow our cardiac program at Good Samaritan Hospital, we are now able to better meet a critical healthcare need of the people of Rockland, Orange, Sullivan and surrounding counties," noted Schnieders. It is our intention to grow this specialty to include full, comprehensive interventional cardiac care, including eventually offering elective angioplasty and open-heart surgery to continuum of care available to the people of this growing area.

Added Schnieders, There is no reason to deny residents in the Hudson Valley Region the same level of care available out of state or in Manhattan."

Along with the primary angioplasty and Electrophysiology programs, Good Samaritan Hospital has stepped up its community cardiac outreach services, offering educational materials and seminars, as well as free blood pressure screenings, to better identify those within the community who may be at risk of heart disease. The hospital is committed to lowering the risk of heart attack in the Hudson Valley through education and screenings, in addition to providing the highest level of medical care.

Good Samaritan Hospital is part of the Bon Secours Charity Health System, which also includes St. Anthony Community Hospital in Warwick, NY and Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, NY. Additionally, Bon Secours Charity Health System provides the services of a Certified Home Health Agency, two long-term care facilities, an assisted living and adult home facility and several other medical programs. For more information about this or other programs contact Good Samaritan Hospital at 845-368-5000.

Media Contact: John Lonsdorf, R&J Group (973) 331-1070.

###