Hunterdon Medical Center Now Offers Elective Angioplasty

On February 22, 2021, New Jersey signed legislation to allow Hunterdon Healthcare System and ten other hospitals without cardiac surgery programs to be able to provide elective angioplasty services.

Angioplasty is a procedure in which a small balloon is inserted to open a blocked artery and restore blood flow to the heart. A heart attack can occur if that blood flow becomes completely blocked.

In 2004, Hunterdon Medical Center added primary angioplasty services and has been providing emergency cardiac services to patients, but under New Jersey Law was not legally allowed to offer the same procedure if the care was needed for a non-emergent case.

On December 2, 2021, Hunterdon Medical Center received the official approval and Gerald Granduke of Lebanon was the first patient to have an elective angioplasty procedure performed by William Schafranek, M.D., Interventional Cardiologist, Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates.

“For more than ten years, Hunterdon Healthcare physicians, the board of trustees, staff, patients and local government officials, have been lobbying for this bill to be passed so our residents can have fair and equal access to critical preventive cardiovascular healthcare in their community.  Today that day has come,” stated Patrick J. Gavin, President and CEO, Hunterdon Healthcare.

Glen Tonnessen, M.D., Cardiologist, Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates, added, “This was a long road to get to today.  There were countless people that were involved and it is because of their dedication and perseverance to make this procedure available to our patients that we can celebrate.  Today, our interventional cardiologists and their patients will not need to be transferred to another hospital to get the care they need.”

In 2015, Hunterdon Healthcare opened the Norman and Denise Guilloud Cardiovascular Center which includes two cardiac catheterization labs, a cardiac critical care unit, twenty private patient rooms, expanded space for cardiac imaging and state-of-the-art cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services.

To learn more about cardiovascular services throughout Hunterdon Healthcare, visit hunterdonhealthcare.org.