Newswise — Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center, the region’s leading cardiac surgery provider, has bolstered its cardiac services with the addition of a new Advanced Heart Failure Center. The program provides specialized treatment options such as Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) surgery, as well as services for patients with new onset heart failure, cardiomyopathy and valvular heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease specialist Jesus Almendral, M.D., FACC, has been appointed medical director of the Advanced Heart Failure Center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Dr. Almendral is board certified in Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease, and Internal Medicine. He has worked closely to develop the new program with board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon Sinan Simsir, M.D., an accomplished cardio-thoracic transplant surgeon and expert in treating complex heart failure cases with fully implantable LVADs.
The Advanced Heart Failure Center provides specialized cardiovascular care for heart failure patients by providing counseling, promoting compliance, and offering advanced treatment options such as inotropic therapy or LVAD. For patients with advanced heart failure, the LVAD technology is a mechanical pump attached to the heart, helping it pump more blood with less work. The specialized treatment options offered through the Advanced Heart Failure Center contribute to improved outcomes, including decreased symptoms, improved quality of life, and reduced rates of hospital re-admission.
“We’re thrilled to have such robust expertise and capabilities expand services at the region’s leading cardiovascular center,” says Kenneth N. Sable, M.D., MBA, FACEP, president of Jersey Shore University Medical Center and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital. “Our team is serving a critical need for patients newly diagnosed with heart failure, as well as those who have more advanced disease and have had LVAD or transplant surgery elsewhere. We’re proud to make this specialized service even more convenient and accessible to residents in Central Jersey and along the Jersey Shore.”
The program at Jersey Shore University Medical Center uses a multidisciplinary approach with an experienced team of surgeons, cardiologists, advance practice clinicians, social workers, palliative care experts and program coordinators. The team evaluates each patient and develops an appropriate plan of care. For patients who are deemed candidates for LVAD, the team performs surgical implantation of the pump and treats patients’ post-implant needs at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
To learn more about the Advanced Heart Failure Center at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, call 732-776-4196.
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ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care.
Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers – Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children’s hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital in Neptune; nine community hospitals - Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood; and two rehabilitation hospitals - JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.
Additionally, the network has more than 450 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, urgent care centers and physician practice locations. Hackensack Meridian Health has 33,000 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.
The network’s notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America’s 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For,” one of the “20 Best Workplaces in Health Care” in the nation, and the number one “Best Place to Work for Women.” The network was also named to Becker’s Healthcare’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare/2018” list.
Hackensack Meridian Health partnered with Seton Hall University to launch the first private medical school in New Jersey – Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University - in more than 50 years to address a growing shortage of physicians and dramatic changes in health care delivery. Additionally, the network partnered with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer to find more cures for cancer faster while ensuring that patients have access to the highest quality, most individualized cancer care when and where they need it. Hackensack Meridian Health and Carrier Clinic, New Jersey’s oldest and most respected behavioral health provider, signed a definitive agreement to merge.
Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.
For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org
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