MORRISTOWN Linda D. Gillam, MD, MPH, has been named chair of Cardiovascular Medicine for Atlantic Health System, parent organization for Morristown, Overlook, and Newton Medical Centers and Goryeb Childrens Hospital. Gillam specializes in valvular heart disease, echocardiography, and heart disease in women.
Gillam joined Atlantic Health System in 2011 as vice chair of cardiovascular medicine. She has been working with the cardiovascular team to expand the system's valvular disease program into a multidisciplinary center that includes the latest imaging capabilities, genomics, clinical trials, and advanced surgical and interventional techniques.
With Gillam's arrival also comes the expansion of Atlantic Health System's Women's Heart Program across all three hospital campuses. This initiative recognizes that women have specialized cardiovascular health needs, and the program is designed to provide gender-specific diagnosis and treatment techniques for women with known or suspected heart disease.
"Dr. Gillam brings her extensive expertise to Atlantic Health System to expand what is already one of the region's premiere cardiovascular programs," said David J. Shulkin, MD, president, Morristown Medical Center, and vice president, Atlantic Health System. "Her leadership will elevate the cardiovascular medicine program toward national recognition, and enhance the quality programs and services our patients expect.
Inside Jersey magazine partnered with Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. and ranked Morristown Medical Center as the number 1 hospital in New Jersey and the number 1 hospital for treatment of heart failure and coronary surgery in the state. The hospital also is the only one in New Jersey and one of just 20 across the country to offer three minimally-invasive treatment options for heart valve repair and replacement for patients who are ineligible to undergo open heart surgery.
Gillam is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Echocardiography and Treasurer of the National Board of Echocardiography. She is a graduate of McGill University and Queen's University in Canada and Columbia University in New York, and completed her cardiology fellowship training at the University of Toronto and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Gillam has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, 11 book chapters and is co-editor of the textbook, Advanced Echocardiographic Techniques. She is also an associate editor for Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging and a member of the editorial boards of Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Previously, she was medical director of the cardiac valve program and professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University, served as president of the American Society of Echocardiography, and was a member of both the board of trustees and board of governors of the American College of Cardiology. Gillam is also a former chair of the Women in Cardiology Committee of the American Heart Association (AHA) and served on the leadership committee of the AHA Council on Clinical Cardiology.
Morristown Medical Center has proved itself as a top destination for cardiovascular care in New Jersey and one of the top in the New York metropolitan area. The Gagnon Cardiovascular Institute at Morristown performs more than 1,000 heart surgeries annually, more than any other cardiovascular facilities in the state. The hospital also has been selected as one of 60 hospitals in the country to participate in a new trial that could potentially permanently lower blood pressure for patients with chronic hypertension.