Member News Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 10, 2006
Lifelong McHenry County Resident Receives First Open Heart Surgery at Centegra Health System
The first-ever open heart surgery in McHenry County was performed at
Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center on Friday, October 27, 2006,
when cardiac surgeons from Centegra performed bypass surgery on Sandra
Nebel of Woodstock, Illinois. This procedure inaugurates Centegra
Health System’s open heart surgery program that has been in the
planning and development stages over the past year.
The surgery was performed by Jeffrey Schwartz, MD and James Gramm,
MD, of Cardiac Surgery Associates (CSA). CSA is the state’s largest
cardiothoracic surgery group performing over 3000 open heart procedures
annually. The surgery on Ms. Nebel went very well according to the
doctors. “She had triple vessel coronary artery disease which was
deemed most treatable by bypass surgery,” stated Dr. Gramm. “Ms.
Nebel’s heart condition was discovered during a routine event when she
came to see her doctor for a flu shot. Prior to that time, she was not
aware of any heart-health issues.” The surgery lasted three and a half
hours, and the patient recovered well in the hospital.
“Today is a historic day for McHenry County and Centegra as we have
brought state-of-the-art open heart surgery to the community. And most
importantly, Ms. Nebel’s life was saved, and she is going home tomorrow
to resume a full and active life,” stated Michael S. Eesley, President
and CEO of Centegra Health System. “We’ve known all along that it was
important to have a program in place right here where people live and
work so they don’t have to travel outside the community for heart
surgery.”
Sandra Nebel is a resident of Woodstock, Illinois, and has lived in
McHenry County most of her life. She is the mother of three children
and the grandmother of five. Ms. Nebel is very active in her community,
helping seniors with their daily activities. She also works as a tutor
at Woodstock Christian School and has been an active member of the Red
Hat Society participating in monthly activities and meetings.
The open heart surgery program at Centegra Northern Illinois
Medical Center caps off a twenty year process of building a quality
heart care program for McHenry County. In the 1980s, a cardiac
rehabilitation program was established at both hospitals; Woodstock and
McHenry. In the early 1990s, Centegra launched a cardiac
catheterization program at Northern Illinois Medical Center. In the
past 14 years, over 6600 cardiac catheterizations have been performed
to analyze heart conditions at the hospital.
In 2004, Centegra Northern Illinois Medical Center performed its
first angioplasty procedure. This life-saving technique allows a
cardiologist to open blocked arteries without an invasive surgical
procedure. Many heart blockages can be treated with this technique. To
date over 630 patients have received this life-saving treatment at
Centegra.
“With the advent of open heart surgery, Centegra Health System
brings a new era of heart care to the residents of McHenry County,”
stated Suzan Buchaklian, Executive Director of Centegra Cardiovascular
Services. “No longer will area residents be required to travel long
distances to academic medical centers or hospitals outside of the
county for this advanced level of care.”
Physicians and hospital staff celebrated Sandra Nebel’s “new
opportunity at life” with a healthy-heart celebration where she was
honored as the first patient to receive open heart surgery in McHenry
County. Ms. Nebel expressed her gratitude to her caregivers and
physicians. “Everyone was wonderful. My nurses were great, and I knew I
would get the best care here at Centegra. I can’t wait to get home and
start living again,” added Ms. Nebel.
Ms. Nebel and her family received several gifts from staff and
hospital administration along with warm wishes for her continued
recovery in the Centegra cardiac rehabilitation program.