“What I would tell people is, we are the guardians of our own healthcare. If we are concerned, we need to push until we get an answer.”

Dr. John M. Luber has practiced at CHI Franciscan St. Joseph for twenty years, following five years as Cardiothoracic-Surgeon-in-Chief at Albany Medical Center. He is also an accomplished scientist, a principal investigator on over 30 clinical trials.

Dr. Luber performed more coronary bypass surgeries over a five-year period than any other physician in Pierce County, according to an analysis of 2013-2017 Medicare inpatient claims data. He was among the top 5 coronary bypass surgeons in Washington State, as well as the top 10 cardiac valve and cardiothoracic surgeons.

Dr. Craig Hampton performed more cardiac valve and cardiothoracic surgeries than any other doctor in Washington in 2017, according to an analysis of Medicare inpatient claims data. He also had the fourth-highest total from 2013-2017.

Dr. Hampton's team specializes in cardiac valve repair. He encourages minimally invasive procedures, saying: “From a physical point of view, it's less pain, it can be a shorter recovery, there's less blood loss... It's less stress on the body.”

Dr. Hampton co-authored ten papers on factors that protect heart muscles from damage during myocardial ischemia (reduced blood flow to the heart), in addition to his work on heart valve repair.

Dr. Mahender Gaba is an interventional cardiologist with over 30 years of experience. Dr. Gaba is highly praised by his patients for his compassion and immediate action in emergencies.

Dr. Gaba performed more stent procedures than any other doctors in Pierce County among Medicare inpatients from 2013-2017. This places him in the top 10 doctors in Washington state for these procedures. Dr. Gaba also performs other forms of percutaneous coronary intervention, and contributes to expert research on the best procedures for high-risk patients.

Dr. Gaba is a current member of the American College of Cardiologists' CardioSurve panel, a select group of cardiologists who provide expert opinion.