Stories

Healing Destination
Providing local access to world-class cardiovascular care
“For people who want to practice at the top of their game, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial is where they come.”
Where you get cardiovascular care matters. Thanks to our tremendous community partnership, Northern California residents can count on Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital to provide world-class care to prevent, diagnose, and treat heart and vascular conditions.
With 2,000 heart patients and more than 13,000 cardiac outpatient procedures a year, our team at the Norma and Evert Person Heart & Vascular Institute treat more heart and vascular patients than any other center in the region.
“People often think they have to go to big institutions to get this level of care when it’s available right here at their community hospital,” says Chuck Kassis, chief executive. “The quality and volume of cardiovascular services we provide matches the level of advanced care typically found at university medical centers.”
Ensuring the Norma and Evert Person Heart & Vascular Institute is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and top-flight physicians to serve our local community is a long-standing priority.
“By getting the latest technology, we’re also getting the best surgeons and interventionalists,” says Chuck. “For people who want to practice at the top of their game, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial is where they come.”
Northern California referral hub
Quantum leaps in health care continue, and Providence Santa Rosa Memorial is evolving to stay on the leading edge. Philanthropy has been instrumental in ensuring that the Norma and Evert Person Heart & Vascular Institute is equipped with the latest innovative therapies.
As the only local community hospital with advanced cardiovascular treatment capabilities and facilities, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial is a destination for patients across the region – from Sacramento to the Oregon border.
“We offer the only structural heart program in the county, meaning procedures that are catheter based that don’t require incisions and fix physical problems with your heart.” says Wendy Dunnagan, R.N., director of nursing for cardiovascular services. “Our highly trained clinicians perform implants, stent placements, heart valve placements, and other procedures in our cath labs, which are the only such advanced labs in Sonoma County and surrounding areas.”
Thanks to our community’s unwavering support, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial recently updated and upgraded two of our cath labs, with a third underway. The renovation of the cath labs was made possible by the generosity of over 450 community members, including key contributions from Norma Person in memory of Evert Person, Ron and Eileen Nelson in memory of Brent Nelson, The Estate of Gary E. Rasche, and Don and Sally Risberg.
Advancements in motion: modernization of the EP lab
Even as we provide exceptional care today, we continue raising funds to ensure access to the latest tools and breakthrough treatments for years to come.
Donor support is funding the update of the electrophysiology lab (EP lab), an integral part of our comprehensive cardiac program. The EP lab allows caregivers to perform procedures to treat atrial fibrillation (A-fib), such as cardiac ablations, insertion of the WATCHMAN device, and closure of holes in the heart called patent foramen ovales (PFO). They implant defibrillators to treat ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in the EP lab — and many other lifesaving procedures.
Today, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial is the only North Bay region hospital performing these procedures.
“As we look to the future, we have faith that our donor partners will join us in bringing new lifesaving treatment and tools to Providence Santa Rosa Memorial,” says Chuck. “On behalf of a grateful community, we thank those generous philanthropists whose support ensures we continue to offer exceptional care.”
More Stories
Share