December 2, 2013 — A cardiologist, whose passionate leadership has helped build a thriving cardiac program at his local hospital, suffers chest pain. His wife calls 911. He is brought to the hospital by two local first responders who happen to be the chair of the hospital's foundation board and generous donor to the foundation. He is greeted by a well-trained team that gets him from the emergency room to the catheterization lab in 18 minutes. His son, along with the other physician co-director and the catheterization lab team, performs the very first emergency angioplasty procedure ever to be done at Bayshore Community Hospital in New Jersey to save his dad's life.
"It was a remarkable moment when everything I had worked for professionally helped me personally," said George Younan, M.D., cardiologist and immediate past president, Bayshore Community Hospital medical staff. "I worked so many years building a program at this incredible hospital, my hospital, and invested so much into my son's future as well, and that morning it all came together to save my life."
On Oct. 1, Bayshore Community Hospital received approval from the Department of Health as a Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) hospital to provide emergency angioplasty procedures on patients suffering from a heart attack. Emergency angioplasty is considered the treatment of choice for Acute ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), and an effective intervention for heart attacks, used to open clogged arteries and restore blood flow within 90 minutes of a patient's arrival at a hospital.
On Oct. 14, Shaddy Younan, M.D., cardiologist and co-director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Bayshore, along with the other co-director of the lab, cardiologist Parveen Uppal, M.D., performed the first emergency angioplasty procedure at Bayshore to save his dad's life.
"My dad had a very serious heart issue, sustaining a heart attack that was caused by a totally blocked main artery," said Shaddy Younan, M.D. "This type of heart attack is commonly known as a widow-maker because of the severity of the episode and typically has a lower rate of survival."
Younan, whose passion for medicine was ignited by his dad's work as well as his hometown volunteerism on the Holmdel First Aid Squad, continued to say, "It was the most extraordinary feeling to use everything I know to save my dad's life. No words can describe how I felt during all the events that took place."
Bayshore Community Hospital followed a rigorous process to qualify as a PCI hospital licensed to perform such interventions. Bayshore's catheterization team was required to meet stringent requirements, as well as meet certain quality measures set forth by the state. Additionally, a call team of interventional cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, nurses and other specialists has been put in place to treat patients 24 hours per day for 365 days per year.
"Our team truly rose to the occasion that morning," said Uppal. "The national average for door to balloon time is 64 minutes and our team's response time on this first case was 18 minutes. We were ready and prepared."
Bayshore has performed five emergency angioplasty procedures since Oct.1, and the median door to balloon time remains well below the national average at 37 minutes. Of course, time to the hospital is extremely important when it comes to heart attack. First responders play an integral role in the patient's outcome. And, on that morning, the Holmdel First Aid Squad was at the ready.
"I am proud to say our first responders do an incredible job every day," said Angelo DeRosa, EMT, Holmdel First Aid Squad. "This is the benefit of having great health care locally. When there is an emergency like this our squad has confidence going to Bayshore. As part of the community we are invested in the great things that are happening at Bayshore."
"It was an amazing sight to see a number of us, who are all involved in the growth and development of Bayshore, come together to help Dr. Younan,” said Serena DiMaso, EMT, Holmdel First Aid Squad and chair of the Bayshore Community Hospital Foundation Board. "Particularly because just four weeks before, Dr. Younan and I celebrated the success of the Bayshore Wine Tasting event. As the lead sponsor, Dr. Younan inspired others and we raised $50,000 to continue the growth of cardiovascular services."
2012 began with the announcement of a $3 million dollar donation from Janice Mitchell Vassar to help fund the development of the two new heart and vascular labs that Bayshore will begin to build in December. And, as part of the Meridian Cardiovascular Network, Bayshore, along with the other four hospitals of Meridian Health, became an Accredited Chest Pain Center, making Meridian Health the first system in New Jersey to achieve this status.
"It has been a significant year for Bayshore's cardiovascular program," said Tim Hogan, regional president, Bayshore Community Hospital and Riverview Medical Center. "I am so proud of all the work we are doing to grow cardiovascular care at Bayshore, but I am especially proud that we were able to come together to save one of our own."
For more information: www.bayshorehospital.org, www.meridiancardiovascularnetwork.com
December 20, 2023 
