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News Release
For Immediate Release
For more information, contact:
Lynne B. Zultanky, MSRT
Marketing Manager
(757) 398-2594
Lynn_zultanky@bshsi.com

(Portsmouth, Va. - October 28, 2006) - About 75 physicians and cardiac
clinicians took advantage of the opportunity to learn from some of the
nation's best cardiac care specialists and researchers during the second annual medical symposium presented by Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Bon Secours Heart Institute, which was held October 28 in Portsmouth.

Options in the Interventional Management of Heart Disease was a
 one-day educational event that guided physicians through the
 state-of-the-art interventional management of cardiac disease. Other
 topics included minimal access surgery and adult congenital and
 congenital heart disease. Local physicians interacted with the
 Columbia University faculty through one-on-one discussions and
 question and answer sessions.

 Faculty included Mehmet C. Oz, MD, FACS, vice chair of cardiovascular
 services and professor of surgery at Columbia University and director
 of the Cardiovascular Institute and Complementary Medicine Program at
 New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. In addition to his research and surgical practice, Dr. Oz makes numerous appearances on network news programs and is a regular guest on Oprah.

Other faculty members included Michael Argenziano, MD, assistant
professor of surgery at Columbia and director of the Surgical
Arrhythmia and Minimally Invasive Robotic Cardiac Surgery Program at
NYPH/CUMC. Dr. Argenziano developed the first totally endoscopic
robotic operation for atrial fibrillation. Allan S. Stewart, MD,
assistant professor of surgery at Columbia and director of the Aortic
Surgery Program at NYPH/CUMC, is part of a collaborative cardiac
surgery-interventional cardiology team at Columbia that is pioneering
percutaneous approaches to aortic valve replacement.

James A. Reiffel, MD, FACS, professor of clinical medicine at
Columbia, director of electrocardiography at NYPH/CUMC, staff
electrophysiologist at CUMC, and medical director of the
world-renowned Cardiovascular Research Foundation, served as moderator
for the panel discussions.

Afternoon sessions were dedicated to adult congenital and congenital
heart disease. Marlon Rosenbaum, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics
at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons presented on
congenital lesions in the adult, and William E. Hillenbrand, MD, FACC,
professor of clinical pediatrics at Columbia University College of
Physicians and Surgeons spoke on interventional procedures for the
treatment of congenital lesions. Daphne Hsu, MD, FACS, associate
professor of clinical pediatrics at Columbia University College of
Physician and Surgeons, presented "Congenital Heart Disease in the
Neonate."

Craig R. Smith, MD, FACS, Calvin F. Barber Professor of Surgery at
Columbia and chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at
NYPH/CUMC, who performed successful bypass surgery on former President
Bill Clinton in 2004, also participated in the symposium. Dr. Smith
serves as Columbia's liaison with the Bon Secours Heart Institute
medical director, Joseph S. Auteri, M.D.

"Improvements and advancements in the surgical and interventional
treatment of cardiovascular disease have shown measurable success in
the improvement of the quality and length of life of individuals with
cardiac disease," said Dr. Auteri. "This course focused on the
interventional and surgical approaches within the spectrum of
cardiovascular disease appropriate for these treatment options."
This symposium is an example of how the Columbia University
partnership with Bon Secours brings high caliber cardiac education to
the medical community, as well as enabling patients to receive the
latest treatments in heart care and access promising new treatments
through clinical trials.

Photo#1: Mehmet C. Oz, MD, Columbia University with Dr. Joseph Auteri,
MD, medical director for the Bon Secours Heart Institute.

Photo #2 : Mehmet C. Oz, MD, Columbia University with Jennifer B.
Smith, Executive Director, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center Cardiac
and Vascular Services.

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Bon Secours Hampton Roads Health System is a leading health care organization known for providing care for the whole person with grace and clinical distinction. Bon Secours brings together a network of hospitals, primary care practices, ambulatory care sites and continuing care facilities to provide quality health care services to the residents of Hampton Roads. Bon Secours, which employs more than 4,500, includes: Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Mary Immaculate Hospital, Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, Bon Secours Maryview Nursing Care Center and St. Francis Nursing Center.