President Message – February 7, 2024

We welcome February and American Heart Month with great news to share! Bridgeport Hospital recently performed its 500th transaortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure. TAVR is a minimally invasive heart valve replacement that has become a safe alternative for traditional open-heart surgery. There are many benefits to TAVR including shorter hospital stays and recovery times. Along with this milestone, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) last month recommended Bridgeport Hospital for initial certification for TAVR. We join Yale New Haven Hospital as the only certified hospitals and the only health system in the state with this certification.  We congratulate the entire team of the Joel E. Smilow Heart Institute for their advanced and compassionate patient care.

TAVRs are performed in our cardiac catheterization labs, which are being completely modernized and featured in our Bringing Technology to Life Campaign. We are delighted to announce that the Smilow Foundation has made a generous gift of $500,000 toward the modernization project. This gift continues the Smilow family’s extraordinary tradition of philanthropic support for both Bridgeport Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System and brings our Campaign total to over $5,000,000. We extend our deepest appreciation to the Smilow Foundation for their leadership. With the Foundation’s help and the kindness of dozens of other benefactors, we will continue to make lifesaving cardiac care accessible close to home for residents of the Greater Bridgeport area.

Please consider following the Smilow Foundation’s example with a gift to the Bringing Technology to Life Campaign. You can read more about the Campaign and make your contribution here. If you wish, you can make your donation in honor of a physician or another member of our Bridgeport Hospital team.

Thank you for your consideration and for joining in our celebration of American Heart Month!