PATERSON, NJ [MARCH 9, 2011] – St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) in Paterson, NJ, is pleased to announce its partnership with Heart and Vascular Associates of North Jersey to establish the St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center at Fair Lawn. The Center is one of several centers planned for opening in 2011 which will partner with its skilled cardiologists to offer cardiovascular patients high quality and convenient access to medical screening and evaluation, disease management and education, as well as diagnostic services including Nuclear Stress, Echo, EKG, and Vascular studies. The Centers are being developed as part of St. Joseph’s mission to improve the health of its community by offering full service community-based outpatient facilities which focus on the management of chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure, hypertension, post-acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, arrythmia’s (heart rhythm irregularities) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Centers will be fully integrated with both St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, a division of SJRMC and affiliated outpatient facilities, for seamless inpatient and outpatient care. The Center’s physicians and their patients will have access to hospital-based services such as nutrition counseling and education in order to offer a more comprehensive medical care plan for those with chronic disease. The St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center’s goal is to reduce the number of repeat hospital admissions chronic disease patients typically require and ultimately improve their overall quality of life.

The St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center at Fair Lawn recently held a reception and ribbon cutting to commemorate its opening. Pictured (left to right) are St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center at Fair Lawn Partners, Ijaz Vehra, MD, FACC and Steven Grossman, MD, FACC; Mahesh Bikkina, MD, MPH, FACC, Director, St. Joseph’s Cardiovascular Center at Fair Lawn; Fair Lawn Mayor Lisa Swain; Debbie Berowitz, Executive Director, Fair Lawn Chamber of Commerce; William A. McDonald, President & CEO, St. Joseph’s Healthcare System; and Mitch Palin, Board Member, Fair Lawn Chamber of Commerce.

St. Joseph's Healthcare System encompasses St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, an academic tertiary care state designated trauma center and three-time recipient of the Magnet Award for Nursing Excellence, which includes St. Joseph's Children's Hospital, an acute care state designated children's hospital in Paterson, NJ; St. Joseph's Wayne Hospital, a division of St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, an acute care community hospital in Wayne, NJ; St. Vincent's Nursing Home, a long-term residential facility in Cedar Grove, NJ; and Visiting Health Services of NJ in Totowa, NJ. For more information regarding St. Joseph's broad spectrum of programs and services, visit www.StJosephsHealth.org or call 877.757.SJHS (7547).