FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2002
CONTACT: Patricia Giramma
Media Relations
Southcoast Health System
Phone: 508-961-5272
Fax: 508-961-5876
Pgr: 508-387-9605
girammap@southcoast.org
www.southcoast.org/news/releases/
Surgeons Named for Cardiac Program
FALL RIVER, Mass. — After a lengthy and thorough nationwide search, Southcoast announes the two
cardiac surgeons who will anchor Southcoast’s new cardiac surgery program at Charlton Memorial Hospital.
The surgeons are Paul Hatton, MD, Director of Cardiac Surgery, and Thomas Carr, MD, Cardiac Surgeon.
Dr. Hatton was formerly senior surgeon and Medical Director for the Mohawk Valley Heart Institute in
Utica, N.Y., a position he held since 1997. Dr. Hatton received his undergraduate degree from Colby College
before attending Northwestern University Medical School. He then completed a general surgical residency at
Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center followed by a three-year tour as a general surgeon for the Air Force in the
Philippines and Virginia. From July 1987 to June 1989 he was a cardiothoracic surgical resident at New
England Medical Center in Boston, Southcoast’s tertiary partner in the cardiac surgery program. After
completing his cardiac training, he went to Milwaukee and practiced there for eight years before moving to
Utica.
The cardiac program at Mohawk Valley Heart Institute was a start-up program similar to the one being
initiated at Charlton. In New York, Dr. Hatton had to work with extensive state regulations and also had a
tertiary partner to which he was responsible.
Dr. Hatton brings with him his current associate, Thomas Carr, MD. Dr. Carr attended Harvard
University as an undergraduate then received a master’s degree in public health from Boston University. He
attended medical school at New York Medical College after which he did a general surgical residency in
Connecticut. Dr. Carr underwent his cardiothoracic training from 1992 to 1995 at Boston University Medical
Center and then completed three years of service as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tripler Army Medical
Center in Honolulu. He then joined Dr. Hatton in Utica in 1998.
Both surgeons have now live in the South Coast region.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2002
CONTACT: Joyce Faria Brennan
508-961-5270
brennanj@southcoast.org
www.southcoast.org/news/releases
Q & A Cardiac Surgeons
A conversation with Southcoast Hospital’s Cardiac Surgeons
The two surgeons who will anchor the new Southcoast Cardiac Surgery program recently
spoke with Southcoast’s Publications Coordinator Patricia Giramma to discuss why they are
excited about the future of cardiac care in the South Coast region. This interview originally
appeared in Coastlines, the employee publication for Southcoast Health System.
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What brought you to Southcoast?
Dr. Hatton: I was originally contacted by New England Medical Center because I had trained
and worked there before. They new I had started the cardiac surgery program in Utica and
they were looking for input on starting the Southcoast program. One thing just led to another.
For a long time academic institutions controlled the cardiac field. This represented an
opportunity to return home and provide cardiac care that is equivalent to those academic
institutions. Also, my wife and I were looking to move to a better climate — and the South
Coast area is just beautiful.
Dr. Carr: It was a combination of things. I grew up in Burlington, Mass., and was looking
for an opportunity to move closer to home and my family. This was an opportunity to help
build a cardiothoracic surgery program from the ground up and I did not want to pass that by.
Plus, the enthusiasm here was infectious — and I wanted to be a part of it and to continue my
association with Dr. [Paul] Hatton.
What do you look for when building a cardiothoracic surgery team?
Dr. Hatton: You look for a combination of people who have worked in the field and are
successful and people who are ambitious and talented but not experienced. Then you use the
experienced people to teach and mentor the new staff. I am a big believer in finding people
who have talent but not necessarily experience and bringing them along.
-more-
Q & A Cardiac Surgeons
Southcoast Hospitals Group
Page 2 of 3
What do you look for when building a cardiothoracic surgery team?
Dr. Carr: As important as surgeons are, the people around them are just as important. Having
quality anesthesiologists, PAs and perfusionists are essential to the success of a program.
And even more so are the quality of the nurses. Perioperative nursing is fundamental in
helping to identify important patient care issues and for public relations purposes. Nurses
have more contact with the families and patients. They are really the “hands-on” people who
provide clinical care and emotional support. Finding nurses with the right balance of
competence and compassion is critical to keeping patients in the system.
What excites you about the program at Southcoast?
Dr. Hatton: The potential. There is a large drawing area for patients and I think we can
provide top-notch care closer to their homes.
Dr. Carr: The team is really coming together well. We have a good mix of seasoned
experience and youthful enthusiasm. It’s always fun to be around those who are a little on
edge because they are enthusiastic and eager but are not sure what to expect.
You have already started one cardiac surgery program. What’s it like to start your second?
Dr. Hatton: It’s not the nerve-wracking experience that the first one was. I know what’s
going to happen, when and how it’s going to happen. The stakes are just as high, but I feel
confident that we are going to have very good outcomes.
People usually think of valve replacement and bypass surgery when they think of open heart
surgery.
Will you be performing other types of surgery?
Dr. Hatton: Bypass surgery is very common now. We expect that 70 to 80 percent of the
surgery we do will be bypass. There will be occasional aortic and thoracic surgery but that
will be staged. We will do mainly bypass and valves at the beginning then introduce other
types of surgery in stages as the team is ready.
Why is it important to have cardiothoracic surgery at community hospitals?
Dr. Hatton: Whether or not to have it really depends upon the community hospital. Hospitals
should only start a program if they can do it as well as other places. You do what you are
good at. We found in New York that many people would not go for care if they had to travel
long distances. That’s probably not as true here but convenience is a factor.
The biggest thing is that having a cardiac surgery program results in the improvement of all
services throughout a hospital — labs, respiratory care, everyone benefits and the community
benefits as well.
-more-
Q & A Cardiac Surgeons
Southcoast Hospitals Group
Page 3 of 3
Why is it important to have cardiothoracic surgery at community hospitals?
Dr. Carr: The location of services is very important. Families need the convenience of
having their loved ones cared for close to home. It can be intimidating and exhausting to
have to drive into a distant city to visit a loved one and that does not help the process at all.
You don’t accomplish anything by making people travel for care when equivalent quality is
available locally. Plus, there is a certain blanket of comfort that comes with having surgery
at the same place that will handle any post-operative issues, follow-up and rehabilitative care.
You just said that a hospital should only do what it is good at. What makes you think
Southcoast will be good at cardiac surgery?
Dr. Hatton: The commitment on the part of administration and physicians to do it the right
way — the best way. They have allocated the right resources both in terms of finances and
personnel. It’s a top-notch organization that is building a wonderful quality assurance
program. That brings me back to a question you asked earlier about what excites me. The
commitment at Southcoast excites me.
What are your hopes for the cardiac surgery program?
Dr. Hatton: I don’t get too carried away with total numbers, but am very cognizant of
outcomes. We want to do what needs to be done and do it really well. Dr. Carr and I have
talked a lot about this and our goal is to provide the best cardiac care that we can — and
that’s not just in terms of surgery. We want to build an integrated system that cares for the
majority of patients and make good decisions on which cases are appropriate to do here and
which cases should go to a tertiary hospital. When all is said and done, we want people to say
they want to go to Southcoast for their cardiac care.
Dr. Carr: Our hopes are really to gain the confidence of the community from Rhode Island
to Cape Cod and as far north as we can go. We want everyone to know that the cardiac
surgery program at Southcoast will have the same level of expertise as a program in a
downtown hospital plus it will provide the added personal attention that can be lacking in
larger institutions.
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