At MWH with heart problems? You might see a U.Va. surgeon

Dr. Gorav Ailawadi

Two heart surgeons from the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville are now working at Mary Washington Hospital.

Dr. Gorav Ailawadi and Dr. John Kern fill in for Dr. Pyongsoo Yoon when he is away. Yoon is the medical director of the hospital’s heart surgery program. He has been at Mary Washington since 2009 and has been working by himself since June when Dr. John Armitage left.

Dr. John Kern

Mary Washington has contracted with U.VA. to provide the coverage. The U.Va. surgeons work 24-hour shifts when they are on duty. Their presence allows the hospital to continue to offer a 24/7 heart surgery program.

“It’s a schedule that’s worked out with Dr. Yoon to make sure he has the appropriate coverage,” said Kathleen Allenbaugh, hospital spokeswoman.

Mary Washington has the region’s only heart surgery program. The hospital is recruiting for another heart surgeon, Allenbaugh said.

This is the second partnership between Mary Washington and U.Va. The university is a 20 percent partner in the sterotactic radiosurgery program that will be a part of the new cancer center at the hospital.

(An earlier posting about Yoon and the Mary Washington heart surgery program can be found here. A March newspaper story about Armitage’s departure can be found here.)

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