Dr. Fredric Seinfeld, Dr. Jay K. Patel, Dr. Shariff, Dr. Eran Zacks, Father Carmen Carlone, St. Francis Medical Center interim president Christy Stephenson and Dr. C. James Romano pose on March 20, 2014.
St. Francis Medical Center conducted a blessing of their Hybrid Lab March 20.
The equipment and technology in the Hybrid Lab combines the imaging capabilities of a cardiac catheterization lab with the sterile environment of a conventional operating room.
Physicians, nurses, colleagues and the community gathered in the balcony of the St. Francis chapel as interim CEO and president Christy Stephenson welcomed the group.
“March 20th, the first day of Spring, and, can you believe, the exact date in 1997 that we received the Certificate of Need to be the only hospital in Mercer County able to perform cardiac surgery,” Stephenson said in her address.
The crowd applauded. Dr. Jay K. Patel, medical director of the St. Francis Medical Center Cardiac Catheterization and Interventional Department.
Dr. Eran Zacks of the Arrhythmia Institute spoke to the group about the benefits the hybrid lab and the advanced technology that it provides physicians to perform more complicated surgeries in an efficient and high quality manner.
Father Carmen Carlone officiated the blessing ceremony and hung a cross outside the Hybrid Lab entrance.
The hybrid lab allows St. Francis Medical Center, the only Heart Hospital in the county, to continue to provide expertise in the management of complex cardiac arrhythmias, cardiac device management, device implantation, and lead extractions.

,