NorthBay Medical Center’s unique situation and location will make it one of the most sought-after heart programs in Northern California, says Dr. Ramzi Deeik, director of Cardiac Surgery Clinical Outcomes at the NorthBay Heart & Vascular Center. The cardiothoracic surgeon has been with the program since its planning stages.

It has taken two years, lots of planning and millions of dollars in equipment, training and recruiting, but today NorthBay Medical Center has a five-man surgical team ready to take on heart, vascular and thoracic cases in its new state-of-the-art surgical suite. Now patients can come to the Fairfield facility for everything from open heart surgery to valve repair.

“It’s been an honor to be involved in the initial stages of developing this heart program,” says Dr. Deeik. The planning committee began nearly three years ago, and was made up of physicians, administrators, experts in the field, nurse practitioners and leaders throughout NorthBay Healthcare. “It’s been a very unique experience,” says Dr. Deeik. “We have a very dedicated team of people here who are excited about what they’re doing.”

While the surgery team has had plenty of experience at other Northern California hospitals, that was not the case for others on the team. Before the first surgery could take place in Fairfield, NorthBay nurses had to go to other hospitals for hundreds of hours of training.

“The nursing staff’s new expertise was really on display when the first surgery was performed,” recalls Dr. Deeik. “The feelings we shared during that first operation back in April were incredible. The fact that we were able to help patients in their own community and make sure their family was close to home, well, patients do extremely well in the recovery process. It has been very uplifting.”

https://wellspring.northbay.org/surgical-team-focuses-on-heart-of-the-matter/