Our Story, and the Inception of a New Hospital
In the summer of 1975, my wife saw a newspaper ad from St. Petersburg, Florida, saying there is a new hospital being built and they needed a Cardiologist. I had just started a new cardiology practice at the Crozer Chester Hospital (part of Hahnemann Medical College) near Philadelphia, after recently finishing an Invasive Cardiology fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania.
Manishi was a Clinical Associate at Hahnemann Medical College Hospital’s OB/GYN department, after having just finished her training. She was tired of the cold and snow in Philadelphia! After several trips visiting the site in St. Pete, we decided to move to Florida.
The new hospital was named Hubert Rutland Hospital, after the owner of the Hubert Rutland Bank, which financed the project. Leonard and Mariam Sampson, Walter Loebenberg, Bob Saron, and few other local businessmen were the co-owners of this hospital, along with 2 others—Palms of Pasadena and the Pembrooke Pines in Leesburg.
Hubert Rutland Hospital formally opened on January 12th, 1976. We started our practices in a series of rooms in the hospital’s A-Wing, until our office building was completed in 1977.
Manishi could not practice Obstetrics, but soon got very busy with Gynecology. We had a great group of physicians who started the hospital with us, which included:
Dipak Mukherjee (Cardiology)
Manishi Mukherjee (GYN)
Lloyd Tabb (ER)
Bob Hackett (Urology)
Nathan Hameroff (Radiology)
George Camarinos (Gastroenterology)
Fikri Shabana (General and Cardiac Surgery)
Edward Popick (Family Practice)
Angelo Alves (Neurology)
Rolando Achacoso (Pulmonology)
Simplicia Achacoso (Internal Medicine)
There were a few other physicians from nearby hospitals who also joined our Medical Staff.
Those initial days were full of hard work as we set up our various departments. For me, this involved organizing the ICU, CCU, Stress and Echo Labs, purchasing all equipment, authoring all the protocols, rules and regulations, and outlining qualifications for Cardiology privileges.
During these initial months, I had been inserting temporary pacemakers, Swan Ganj catheters, and central lines in the ICU and CCU. I implanted the hospital’s first permanent pacemaker in Sept 1976, which went very well.
By July 1977, I performed several Pulmonary Angiograms, and Right and Left Heart Catheterizations with private equipment, which was rented by our Cardiac Surgeon, Dr. Fikri Shabana. He wanted to start a Cardiothoracic Surgery Program. The owner of the hospital did not want to make this huge investment or commitment, so that arrangement fell through.
Unfortunately, we had to return all the equipment within a few months. However, I was able to continue doing many more pacemakers—both temporary and permanent, Swan Ganj and Right Heart Catheterizations. But I could no longer do Left Heart Caths or coronaries anymore! Life went on.
There was a great need for an acute care hospital in this area. We quickly got very busy and successful, as did the hospital. Along the way, the hospital changed ownership several times; subsequently, its name changed every few years. From Hubert Rutland to Humana, to Columbia, to HCA, and finally to Northside Hospital & Heart Institute.
In 1996, I was called by the hospital’s Administration to testify regarding the cardiac catheterizations and angiographic studies that I had conducted in the hospital’s formative years to the Regulatory authorities in Tallahassee. In those days, the hospital needed a Certificate of Need for the Cath lab and Open-Heart Surgery Program. After my testimony and based on my work in the past, everything was approved very quickly. And the rest is history!
The Open-Heart Surgery program officially launched with Drs. George Spoto, James Campbell, and Hadi Haki. Over the years since then, many more surgeons and specialists came and contributed to the progressive development of the hospital. The great Northside Hospital and Heart Institute was born; however, we were the pioneers.
We build the hospital from ground zero. My satisfaction is that we came when there was nothing other than a small nursing home-like structure next to a cemetery, which grew to become what you now see today—an important healthcare hub for cardiac care and a teaching hospital.
I, along with others, contributed greatly to the development of this hospital from the very beginning. My wife and I had a great journey, having spent our entire professional life here in St. Petersburg. We raised our children here and provided them with good educational opportunities. We both feel our decision to come here to start a new hospital was a good one.
We wish you all—the current generations and the new physicians—the very best of achievements and satisfaction.
God Bless,
Dipak Mukherjee, MD FACC FCCP
Manishi G. Mukherjee, MD FACOG
