Girish Purohit, MD, joins Centra Health's The Cardiovascular Group of Central Va.

Farmville cardiologist Girish Purohit, M.D., and Southside Cardiology Associates have joined Centra Health’s The Cardiovascular Group of Central Virginia, which will strengthen access to cardiovascular care for patients throughout the region.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Purohit and his staff to Centra Health,” said Skip Meador, Centra Health vice president of cardiovascular and neurosciences. “For southside Virginia patients, this association will help ensure that the high-level of cardiac care they’ve come to expect continues well into the future.”

Dr. Purohit said, “My patients will still come to our Farmville office and Southside Community Hospital, and they will gain an enhanced level of care plus quick access to the full resources of the national award winning Stroobants Heart Center of Virginia.”

Dr. Purohit has 30 years of experience as a cardiologist and is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, critical care medicine and nuclear cardiology. He is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology, and a member of the American College of Chest Physicians, American Heart Association, Royal College of Physicians of Canada and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and American Society of Echocardiography.

Cardiologists Peter O’Brien, M.D., and Christopher W. Lewis, M.D., and nurse practitioner Beth Poore-Bowman of The Cardiovascular Group also will see patients in the Farmville office, 900 West Third Street, and at Southside Community Hospital, which is affiliated with Centra Health. Patients will have better access in Farmville to specialty care, from peripheral vascular care to advanced arrhythmia management.

“We are very pleased to have Dr. Purohit join our team,” said Dr. O’Brien. “For heart attack patients, we know time is critical in saving heart muscle and gaining full recovery. We are working aggressively to streamline processes so that heart attack patients can get the care they need as quickly as possible.”

Centra Health consistently earns national recognition for its heart care, primarily because of the teamwork among regional physicians, cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, emergency department physicians and Centra Health staff. Centra Health has been named a 100 Top Cardiovascular Hospital in America by Solucient four times. Many of the quality indicators for the Solucient 100 Top Cardiovascular rankings are based on excellent surgical outcomes from three cardiothoracic surgeons who perform surgery at Lynchburg General Hospital. Each year, heart center specialists perform more than 5,000 major cardiac procedures and routinely earn accolades for their quality of heart surgery outcomes and speed in reopening blocked blood vessels of emergency heart attack patients.

Centra Health’s cardiac catheterization laboratories were recently rated the highest in the state (in terms of mortality and outcomes) as compared to more than 60 other hospitals in Virginia with cath labs. In addition, Centra Health opened Virginia’s first acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) center in 2004 and the program is supported by helicopter service bringing patients to Lynchburg from emergency departments in South Boston, Farmville, and elsewhere.The cardiologists also treat patients in satellite clinics in Bedford and Gretna.

In addition to Dr. Purohit, Dr. Lewis and Dr. O’Brien, The Cardiovascular Group of Central Virginia includes cardiologists William Brown, M.D., Dan Carey, M.D., Jason Hackenbracht, M.D., Chad Hoyt, M.D., Thomas Nygaard, M.D., Thomas Meyer, M.D., Carl Moore, M.D., Matthew Sackett, M.D., David Truitte, M.D., Michael Valentine, M.D., and William Van Dyke Jr., M.D.

For more information about heart care in Farmville at The Cardiovascular Group of Central Virginia, call (434) 392-4370.