- February 23, 2025
The hospital will perform more complex surgeries.
Wayne Grant
News Editor
Halifax Health had an open house recently to introduce its partnership with University of Florida Health in the France Tower at Halifax Health Medical Center, 303 N. Clyde Morris Blvd., Daytona Beach.
The new collaboration, Heart and Vascular Surgery, expands capabilities of the medical center and connects them to resources at the university.
The collaboration began on June 1 and had been in discussions for about a year.
Dr. Marvin Dewar, CEO of UF Health, said that as long as three years ago the two institutions talked about different ways they could form a partnership. They decided to start with vascular surgery and the next partnership could be in pediatrics.
“It’s up to our imaginations to find other ways to partner,” he said.
Halifax Health has been providing heart surgery since 1998. The two new surgeons at Halifax Health, Dr. Sohit Khanna and Dr. Cary Meyer, are both cardio-thoracic surgeons, which means they can operate in the entire chest area and perform more complex procedures.
Two vascular surgeons are expected to be hired in the next year, according to Matt Petkus, cardiovascular and pulmonary service line administrator at Halifax.
Petkus said heart surgery has evolved to the point where it has become its own area of specialty.
“In the past decade there have been great advancements,” he said.
The latest techniques include off-pump surgery, which allows an operation while the heart continues to beat. Previously, hearts had to be stopped while certain procedures were done.
Also, robotics and minimally invasive techniques are also advancing.
Halifax Health will be able to stay current with the “evolution of healthcare” with its partnership with the university, Petkus said, and will take a “team approach” to health care.
Drs. Khanna and Meyer are still on the faculty at the university but live and work at Halifax Health.
Khanna called the facility at the medical center “wonderful” and he’s happy to have relocated here.
“You couldn’t ask for a better location,” he said. “It’s a nice mixture of a small and large town and centrally located.”
Jeff Feasal, president and CEO of Halifax Health, said the partnership is not really new.
“Our staff is deep in UF grads,” he said. “We have a long relationship.”
He said to kick off the new facility, they have formed a partnership with the Volusia County Gator Club to provide $1,000 scholarships for high school students to the University of Florida.
