Edward LaPorta, M.D., a cardiologist with privileges at Delaware County Memorial Hospital and Crozer-Chester Medical Center, was appointed Chief of the Section of Cardiology at DCMH. His term began on January 1, 2005. LaPorta succeeds William Beckwith, M.D., who held the position for 25 years.
LaPorta has provided clinical and interventional cardiology services to Crozer-Keystone patients for 16 years. He earned his medical degree from State University of New York at Stony Brook, and did his cardiology and interventional cardiology fellowships there as well. LaPorta did his residency at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center in New York.
“Edward LaPorta is an experienced clinician who is trusted by his patients and well-respected by his peers,” says Joan K. Richards, chief operating officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System and president of CKHS Hospitals. “DCMH’s Section of Cardiology made many strides under the direction of Dr. William Beckwith. We are confident that Dr. LaPorta will also leave a lasting a mark at DCMH, and welcome him in his new administrative role.”
LaPorta serves on several DCMH committees, including the Critical Care Committee and the Emergency Department Committee, where he provides input on quality issues and reviews protocols for patient care. He is also a member of the system-wide Women’s HeartAdvantage Committee, an initiative begun in 2002 at Crozer-Keystone with the goal of increasing awareness of heart disease in women. Through the initiative, physicians and clinicians at all Crozer-Keystone hospitals provide education and screenings such as cholesterol and blood pressure; community education concerning the signs and symptoms of heart disease, and how to live a healthy lifestyle; and education, including what questions every woman should ask her doctor about her own personal risk for heart disease.
“The Women’s HeartAdvantage Committee gives me the opportunity to explore women’s heart care needs and allows me to use this information to help take care of my patients,” LaPorta says. “There is a lack of understanding among the general population about the incidence and prevalence of heart disease in women. The reality is, heart disease is the number-one killer of women. By being on this committee, I am able to educate my patients as well as the general community about heart disease.”
William McCune, chief operating officer of DCMH and CKHS vice president, comments that “Dr. LaPorta’s drive to provide high quality care to his own patients will ultimately benefit all cardiology patients at DCMH. His clinical experience, along with the valuable role he plays on multiple committees, will serve him well in his new position.”
LaPorta has already begun to compile a list of goals for DCMH’s Section of Cardiology. Among them is the short-term goal of using digital echocardiography to record and store images of a patient’s heart. “Digital echocardiography provides better image refinement, and allows us to review images live, which is especially important in an emergency situation,” LaPorta says. In addition, images can be recalled anytime, from any Crozer-Keystone location via a secure Internet site, and compared against prior results.
Another role that LaPorta will assume from Beckwith is co-director of DCMH’s Critical Intensive Care Unit. “I am pleased that Dr. LaPorta has accepted the role of Section Chief,” Beckwith says. “He is a competent professional and compassionate physician who will do great things for DCMH and our patients.”
Beckwith will continue to maintain an active medical practice and will continue to serve on the Crozer-Keystone Board of Directors.
“During Dr. Beckwith’s time as chief, there have been many advances and changes in cardiology at DCMH, including echocardiography, stress nuclear scanning and the whole noninvasive program,” LaPorta says. “He has overseen many major developments in cardiology at DCMH. My personal perspective is that I hope at the end of my tenure I can look back and have the same level of accomplishments that he has been able to oversee during his tenure.”