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Award Winning Cardiovascular Surgical Team
Meet our Cardiovascular Surgical Team
Our Cardiovascular Surgical Team of experts provide advanced care while listening, explaining and working together. That’s the power of collaboration! Our team includes:
- Surgeons
- Cardiac surgery physician assistants
- Dedicated cardiac anesthesiologists
- Cardiac nurse educators
- Dedicated cardiac operating room staff
- Cardiac conditioning staff
- Cardiac nursing and support staff
Call 925-674-2233 to learn more.
Andreas Kamlot, M.D.
Cardiac Surgeon
Dr. Andreas Kamlot completed his general surgery residency at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery and serves as the Co-Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Services at John Muir Medical Center, Concord. Dr. Kamlot specializes in adult cardiac surgery and minimally invasive cardiac surgery including valve repair and atrial fibrillation surgery.
Jatinder Dhillon, M.D.
Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Jatinder Dhillon completed his general surgery residency at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, his cardiothoracic surgery residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery, and serves as the Co-Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery for John Muir Health and the Chairman of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Division at John Muir Medical Center, Walnut Creek. Dr. Dhillon specializes in vascular surgery, thoracic surgery and adult cardiac surgery including minimally invasive cardiac valve surgery and atrial fibrillation surgery.
Tanveer Khan, M.D.
Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Tanveer Khan completed his general surgery residency at Harvard Medical School and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also completed an endovascular fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine and a Transplant and Adult Cardiac Surgery Fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Khan specializes in adult cardiovascular surgery and endovascular surgery including aortic stent grafts.
Ramesh Veeragandham, M.D.
Thoracic Surgeon
Dr. Ramesh Veeragandham completed his general surgery residency at the University of California, San Diego and a cardiovascular and thoracic surgery fellowship at Rush Presbyterian Medical Center in Chicago. He is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery, and is the Co-Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery for John Muir Health. Dr. Veeragandham specializes in adult cardiac surgery, minimally invasive valve surgery, aortic valve repair, and complex aortic surgery and endovascular surgery.
Murali Dharan, M.D.
Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Dr. Murali Dharan completed his general surgery residency at the University of California, San Diego and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is board certified in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. Dr. Dharan specializes in adult cardiac surgery, valvular surgery and minimally invasive cardiac and thoracic surgery including valve repair and atrial fibrillation surgery.
Fariba Foroushani, M.D.
Cardiac Anesthesiologist
Dr. Fariba Foroushani completed her anesthesiology residency at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon and her adult and pediatric cardiothoracic anesthesia fellowship at the University of California in Los Angeles. She has worked at John Muir Health since 2006 and is currently a cardiac anesthesiologist and the Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology.
Janine Mattice, RN, CNOR
Cardiac Surgery Operating Room Nurse Clinician
Janine received her Associate’s Degree in Nursing from San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton. She has worked at the John Muir Medical Center, Concord since 1994 and is currently the Clinical Coordinator for Cardiac Vascular and Thoracic Services. Her role includes overseeing the needs of surgeons and ensuring the core team runs efficiently to provide cardiac patients with exceptional care.
Rolyn Alvarez, RN, BSN, CNOR
Cardiac Surgery Operating Room Nurse
Rolyn received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from San Francisco State University. She has worked at John Muir Health since 2002 and is currently the Clinical Coordinator for Thoracic and Bariatric Surgery.
Laurie Oldham-Stephens, BS, MPA-C
Cardiac Surgery Physician Assistant
Laurie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology at the University of California at Santa Barbara and completed her Master Physician Assistant Program at Samuel Merritt College. She has worked at John Muir Health since 2016 and is currently a Cardiac Surgery Physician Assistant where she assists surgeons in the care of cardiac surgery patients in the hospital before, during and after surgery.
Marife Woods, PA-C
Cardiac Surgery Physician Assistant
Marife received her Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry at Barnard College of Columbia University and completed her Physician Assistant Program at Cornell Weil Medical College in New York. She has worked at John Muir Health since 2010 and is currently a cardiac surgery Physician Assistant where she assists cardiac surgeons in the care of cardiac surgery patients before, during and after surgery.
Mary Nichols, RN, BSN, CHFN
Cardiac Nurse Navigator
Mary received her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from Clemson University. She has worked at John Muir Health since 1999 where is currently a Cardiac Nurse Navigator providing education and support to patients and families with cardiovascular issues.
Lisa Marquez, RN, , BSN, MICN, TNCC, CGRN, PHN
Cardiac Nurse Navigator
Lisa received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Samuel Merritt University. She has certifications in mobile intensive care nursing, trauma nursing, gastroenterology nursing and public health nursing. Lisa has worked at the John Muir Medical Center, Concord since 2000 and is now a Cardiac Nurse Navigator where she provides support and education to cardiovascular surgery, heart attack and heart failure patients.
Jessica Haney, RN, , BSN, PCCN
Cardiac Nurse Navigator
Jessica completed her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the California State University in the East Bay. She has been working at John Muir Health since 2009 and is currently a Cardiac Nurse Navigator. Jessica assists heart surgery patients by getting their pre-operative testing done quickly, providing feedback, answering questions, assessing progress, walking them through the process and educating them throughout their stay.
Pamela Lavering, MSN, RN-BC
Manager, Chest Pain Program and Cardiac Education
Pamela received her Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree in Nursing from Western Governors University. She has worked at John Muir Health since 1991 and currently is Manager of the Chest Pain and Heart Failure programs at both John Muir Medical Center locations, in Concord and Walnut Creek.
Dawn Bautista, RN, BSN
Cardiac Conditioning Nurse
Dawn received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from San Diego State University. She started at John Muir Health in 2004, left briefly in 2005 to embark on a 2-year travel nursing program, and is now the Lead Nurse for the Cardiac Rehabilitation Department at the John Muir Medical Center, Concord.
Alicia "Lici" Bordona, RN, MSN, CNL
Cardiac Case Manager
Lici received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing at Fresno State, and her Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of San Francisco. She has worked at John Muir Health since 2004 and is currently a Cardiac Care Manager. One of her primary responsibilities is preparing patients for their return home.
Mary Draper, RN, BSN
Coordinator, Quality Improvement
Mary received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the California State University in San Francisco. She has worked at John Muir Medical Center, Concord since 1993. Mary is currently the Quality Improvement Coordinator where she oversees quality improvement of cardiovascular and sepsis patients using evidence-based practice.
Samantha Roberts, RN, BSN, PCCN
Cardiac Nurse Navigator
Samantha completed her Nursing program at Sonoma State University. She has been working at John Muir Health since 2016, and is currently a Cardiac Nurse Navigator. Samantha has certifications in progressive care nursing and cardiac-vascular nursing. Her role within the cardiac surgery team is to provide support and education to patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. This includes pre-operative testing and education, as well as post-op education and follow up.
More advanced, less invasive procedures
Techniques for cardiovascular surgery have evolved over the years. John Muir Health continues to be a leader and innovator in offering the most advanced cardiovascular procedures in the Bay Area. Newer methods are also designed to be less invasive, with a goal of shorter recovery and rehabilitation times, enabling patients to get back on their feet as soon as possible.
Some of our surgical breakthroughs include:
- Robotic percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as robotic coronary angioplasty, is a procedure performed by interventional cardiologists using a robot to open blocked arteries in the heart and restore blood flow. We are proud to offer the first robotic angioplasty system in Northern California.
- Repairing or replacing diseased mitral or aortic valves using a minimally invasive approach, enabling the procedures to be offered to a greater number of high-risk patients.
- Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (MitraClip) in which surgeons team up with interventional cardiologists to replace or repair heart valves without “open heart” surgery.
- Using ablation to treat irregular heart rhythm due to atrial fibrillation (AF). Hybrid AF ablation is a new procedure which combines the skills of the cardiac surgeons and electrophysiologist together to treat AF.
- Incorporating the use of a mechanical pump (VAD) in patients with acute heart failure. VAD provides a potential long-term, life-saving option for patients with irreversible heart damage.
- Using a catheter-based minimally invasive approach to treat aortic aneurysms and dissections called endovascular aortic surgery.
Click on one of the above links or contact our cardiac surgeons to learn more.
Awards & Recognition
We are dedicated to improving the health of the communities we serve with quality and compassion. This is demonstrated by our consistently high patient satisfaction ratings, and in the awards and accolades received from highly respected healthcare and accreditation organizations.
Cardiac Surgery 3-Star Rating
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has developed a comprehensive rating system for the quality of Cardiac surgery among hospitals across the country. Approximately 12-15% of hospitals received the "3-star" rating, which denotes the highest category of quality. In the current analysis of national data, the performance of our hospital in three adult cardiac procedures was found to lie in this highest quality tier, thereby receiving an STS 3-star rating for:
*** Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG), Jan 2018 - Dec 2018
*** Aortic Valve Replacement (AVR), Jan 2016 - Dec 2018
*** Mitral Valve Repair/Replacement (MVRR), Jan 2016 - Dec 2018
Cardiac Surgery Program Rated Among Top 5 in California by Healthgrades
Our Cardiac Surgery program has been recognized among the top 5 in the state by Healthgrades, a leading online resource for consumers with comprehensive information about physicians and hospitals. Healthgrades’ Cardiac Surgery specialty award recognizes hospitals with superior clinical outcomes in heart bypass surgery and heart valve surgery. This recognition adds to the Concord Medical Center being recognized as one of America's Top 50 Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery by Healthgrades for four straight years.
2020 Chest Pain - MI Registry
Concord and Walnut Creek Medical Centers are the recipients of the Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2020. The award recognizes commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that JMH has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations. To receive the Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, JMH has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain – MI Registry for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top level of standards for specific performance measures.
2024 Get With the Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease - Gold Plus
Our Concord Medical Center has earned the 2024 Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease Gold Plus award, which indicates a commitment to ensuring heart patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
2024 Get With the Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease - Gold
Our Walnut Creek Medical Center has earned the 2024 Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease Gold award, which indicates a commitment to ensuring heart patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.
2023 Mission: Lifeline® - STEMI Receiving Center - Gold Plus
Concord Medical Center has earned the 2023 Mission: Lifeline® - STEMI Receiving Center - Gold Plus Award. Mission: Lifeline Receiving Hospital recognition is designed to showcase hospitals who provide reperfusion support for STEMI’s 24 x 7. These important facilities coordinate with a network of referring hospitals and emergency medical services to provide guideline directed STEMI and non-ST-elevation acute myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) care for their community.
STEMI Receiving Centers earn Gold recognition for achieving 75% or higher compliance on all Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center quality achievement measures and 85% or higher composite adherence to all Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center quality achievement indicators and 50% performance for “arrival at first hospital to PCI” in ≤120 minutes for transfer patients for at least two consecutive year interval to improve the quality of care for STEMI patients.
2023 Mission: Lifeline® - STEMI Receiving Center - Gold
Walnut Creek Medical Center has earned the 2023 Mission: Lifeline® - STEMI Receiving Center - Gold Award.
2024 Get with the Guidelines® - Heart Failure
Walnut Creek and Concord Medical Centers have earned the 2024 Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.
Hospitals receiving Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for 2 consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period.
2022 Get with the Guidelines - Stroke
Walnut Creek and Concord Medical Centers have earned the 2022 Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and also qualified for recognition on the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll and Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll. Walnut Creek Medical Center has also qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Advanced Therapy Honor Roll.
Hospitals receiving Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients with 85 percent or higher compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for 2 consecutive calendar years. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated 75 percent compliance to (four out of ten heart failure quality measures or four out of seven stroke quality measures) during the 12-month period.
Hospitals achieving Time to thrombolytic therapy ≤ 60 minutes in 85% or more of applicable acute ischemic stroke patients treated with IV tPA to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.
California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery
The California Report on Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery 2019: Hospital and Surgeon Data was released by the California Office of Statewide Planning and Development. John Muir Health Concord Medical Center is the only hospital in the state performing significantly “Better” than the state average in isolated CABG mortality outcomes. This public report provides quality ratings for the 123 California-licensed hospitals performing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in adults during 2018 and 2019, the most recent data published.
2020 U.S. News & World Report
For the fourth straight year, Concord Medical Center was one of only 37 hospitals nationwide (less than 1%) to receive a high-performing rating in the following adult procedures and conditions -- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair, Aortic Valve Surgery, Heart Bypass Surgery and Heart Failure. This year, Concord Medical Center was also rated as high-performing in Aortic Valve Surgery, and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR).
Blue Distinction Center Designation
Concord Medical Center is designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care. The Blue Distinction Center designation signifies that our Cardiac Care Program meets nationally established Selection Criteria by demonstrating expertise in delivering quality specialty care, safely and effectively.
Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable healthcare. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.
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