Open heart surgery celebrates 30 years at Salem Health

Come celebrate with a 30th anniversary breakfast

This November marks our 30^th anniversary of doing open heart surgery, which had its first case in November 1989. Dr. John Ross pictured here was the anesthesiologist and is still with Salem Health today. He and others will attend a special breakfast to share stories and memories.

"I did the first case with Jack Bigelow in 1989," said Dr. Ross. "Most of our team has retired but a few are still around. I remember rehearsing for a week before we did that first case. The first patient was out golfing soon after he recovered."

In celebration, we are hosting a breakfast for staff involved in the program over the years, in the Kaizen Classroom on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 7 to 8 a.m. Matthew Boles, MD, will emcee the event, and we'll hear remarks from President and CEO Cheryl Wolfe, perfusionist Scott Beckmann and heart surgeon Juan Oyarzun, MD.

Please join us to share stories, to learn about how the program has evolved over the decades, and to hear from those who have been involved since the beginning.