Our History
Cardiologists along with administrative leaders at Marin General Hospital and California Pacific Medical Center developed a vision of future cardiac care for San Francisco Bay Area communities. This vision was to expand the range heart health care options, from preventive health care, initial diagnosis and rehabilitation to end stage heart disease. From this vision the Sutter Pacific Heart Centers was created. This unique Center of Cardiac Health Care Excellence now includes Sutter Health affiliates California Pacific Medical Center, Marin General Hospital, Novato Community Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital.
Each affiliate provides its own array of cardiac services, with the knowledge that advanced care is also close at hand to provide complete medical and surgical treatment of cardiovascular conditions. Patient care is integrated allowing for seamless patient care as physician and surgeon specialists, as well as many of the nursing and technical staff, provides care at all facilities.
California Pacific Medical Center
California Pacific Medical Center combines the services of three of San Francisco's most respected medical institutions, Pacific Presbyterian Hospital, Children's Hospital of San Francisco, and Davies Medical Center, now known as the Pacific Campus, California Campus and Davies Campus. All three campuses date historically back into the 1800's.
California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest private, not-for-profit, academic medical centers in Northern California becoming a Sutter Health affiliate in 1996. California Pacific provides a wide variety of services, including acute, post-acute and outpatient hospital care; home care and hospice services; preventive and complementary care and health education. Through their medical education program and Research Institute, physicians at California Pacific are able to bring health care innovation to the bedside.
In September of 2004, California Pacific is planning the grand opening of their Kanbar Cardiac Care Center. The Kanbar Center will offer the most innovative care available for cardiac patients including Electrophysiology, three full-service Cardiac Catheterization labs equipped with the latest technology available, and all out-patient diagnostic testing modalities such as stress testing, echocardiography, and EKG.
Marin General Hospital
Marin General Hospital opened in May 1952 and is the largest acute care hospital in Marin County. Marin General provides primary and secondary levels of care in addition to the Marin Cancer Institute and the Marin Heart Institute. Services include a Level III Trauma Center and a full complement of acute care and ancillary services such as neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, a family birthing center, shared care, home care, adult psychiatric units and a cardiac catheterization laboratory.
In Januray of 2002 Marin General opened their new $3.4 million Electrophysiology Laboratory. At the time this was one of only 12 Electrophysiology Laboratories in California where they could diagnose and treat patients with irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia)a lifestyle changing and sometimes fatal condition.
Emergency angioplasty is available at Marin General in the hospital’s Cath Lab, which provides the service 24 hours a day, seven days a week by an on-call team of cardiologists and staff. Patients from Novato Community Hospital are also treated there.
Novato Community Hospital
Novato Community Hospital opened their doors as a stand-alone facility in 1961 and became a Sutter Health affiliate in 1985.
In 2002 Novato Community Hospital opened a new $40 million replacement hsopital and medical office building. As a part of this new facility they offer state-of-the-art outpatient diagnostic services including digital (filmless) diagnostic imageing for Echocardiography, MRI and CAT scanning.
St. Luke's Hospital
St. Luke's Hospital has been the cornerstone for health care in San Francisco's Mission District since 1871. St. Luke's Hospital offers a full range of services including inpatient and outpatient surgery, cardiac catheterization, maternity, neonatal intensive care, and diabetes and asthma education programs. St. Luke's Hospital became a Sutter Health affiliate in 2001.
In 2003 St. Luke's opened the doors to their new Cardiac atheterization laboratory equiped the latest technology available offering leading-edge diagnosis and treatment options for cardiac patients.