Newark Beth Israel Leads Country in Heart Transplants

 One of the national leaders in heart transplants is right here in the South Ward of Newark.

For more than two decades, the Heart Failure Treatment and Transplant Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center has treated people who used to go out of state for the complicated, life-saving procedure.

Since it started doing the complicated surgery in 1986, the hospital has done 616 transplants as of May 11 this year, said Mark J.Zucker, director of the program at Beth Israel.

The program has become one of the top five in the nation in terms of volume of transplants and reached “long-term survival rates that exceed national benchmarks,” according to hospital officials.

Last year, the hospital did 52 transplants as compared to the top programs in the country: Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles at 73, New York-Presbyterian in New York City at 66, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania at 59, and Duke University Hospital and Tampa General Hospital tied at 53, said Zucker.

Zucker credited the success of the program to a core group of surgeons, cardiologists and nurses that have worked together for more than 15 years.

“It’s been a well-integrated team and there’s been a lot of support by hospital administrators,” he said. “Overall, you can’t be anything but be proud of the team - they go beyond the call of duty on a daily basis.”

Zucker singled out David Baran, a doctor and director of heart failure and transplant research, and Margarita Camacho, the surgical director who does 85 percent of transplants, he said.

Baran has pushed the frontiers of medical research by looking at the body’s immune system and the immune suppression drugs for transplant patients, Zucker said. Because of Baran’s studies, patients can use the minimal amount of medication.

“And Margarita is constantly flying across America,” said Zucker, about Camacho, who, as one of the few female heart surgeons in the country, inspects hearts for transplant and personally brings them back for surgery.

Zucker also added that the program doesn’t just do transplants, “It's not just a transplant team - transplantation is just the tip of iceberg.,” He said some patients need non-surgical treatment and other care besides a heart transplant.

Because of their hard work, the hospital has been ranked as one of the country’s best 50 hospitals for heart care and surgery by U.S. News & World Report America's Best Hospitals 2009-11, said Caren Malone, a hospital spokeswoman.

The hospital is part of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System.