Dr. Jose Garcia Joins Memorial Cardiac and Vascular Institute

Jose P. Garcia, MD, a Harvard-educated and fellowship-trained cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named Chief of the Adult Heart Transplant Surgery and Mechanical Circulatory Support programs at Memorial Healthcare System. A longtime educator, Garcia has held leadership positions at multiple institutions, including Indiana University (Methodist Hospital), Harvard University (Massachusetts General Hospital), and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

At Memorial, Dr. Garcia will focus on growing a program that was the first in Broward County to offer adult heart transplants and ventricular assist devices, which provide patients a bridge to transplant or destination therapy for those that aren’t heart transplant candidates.

“Memorial’s Cardiac and Vascular Institute is one of only two facilities in South Florida performing adult heart transplants and is known to deliver excellent outcomes. It’s exciting to help change the lives of our patients and work with those that assist our efforts to provide the community high quality, accessible care,” said Garcia.

Dr. Garcia was named one of “America’s Top Surgeons” five consecutive years by the Consumer’s Research Council of America and has also been principal investigator on numerous research studies. He has transplanted approximately 300 hearts and 400 lungs through the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the nonprofit that oversees the U.S. transplant system for the federal government. Additionally, Garcia has personally implanted more than 700 VADs during a 25-year career. “We’re positioned to increase the number of surgical procedures we do, and that’s one of the reasons I was interested in joining the Memorial team,” said Garcia.

At Memorial’s Cardiac and Vascular Institute, Dr. Garcia will pair with Dr. I-wen Wang, the Surgical Chief of ECMO services. “I know this leadership team will work collaboratively to advance the goals of our program, primarily the provision of safe, high-quality outcomes related to transplant, MCS, and ECMO for our community,” said Dr. Juan Plate, the institute’s Chief of Surgical Services.

The Memorial Transplant Institute, which includes Garcia’s work at the cardiac and vascular institute, is one of only two programs in South Florida to offer heart and kidney transplantation for both adults and children, as well as pancreas transplants for adults.