For patients living with advanced heart failure, specialized care is critical, and access to that care can make all the difference. With locations in Lakewood and Barnegat, RWJBarnabas Health Medical Group offers patients access to comprehensive Advanced Heart Failure services. Under the leadership of Kulpreet S. Barn, MD, Director of the Heart Failure, Heart and Vascular Service Line at RWJBarnabas Health, he leads a team dedicated to managing complex heart conditions, including patients who require mechanical circulatory support such as Left Ventricular Assist Devices (LVADs).
A Seamless Continuum of Care
For 40-year-old Grady Roberts of Pleasantville, this seamless system of care proved lifesaving. After experiencing cardiogenic shock in January 2025, he was transferred to Newark Beth Israel, one of only two centers in the country, and the only center in New Jersey, performing off-pump implantation of the HeartMate 3 LVAD using a less invasive bilateral thoracotomy approach. This advanced technique avoids full open-heart surgery, resulting in smaller incisions, faster recovery, and improved mobility while patients await heart transplant.
Following surgery, his care transitioned back closer to home with Dr. Barn, where ongoing heart failure management and LVAD monitoring continued through coordinated outpatient services. Just three months after discharge, Grady returned to work full-time and resumed daily life with his family, a powerful example of how advanced surgical innovation combined with strong community-based follow-up leads to meaningful recovery.
“Our goal is to bring advanced heart failure care directly to the community,” said Dr. Barn. “Patients should not have to travel far to receive expert monitoring, medication management, and LVAD support. We are able to provide that high level of care right here in Lakewood and Barnegat.”
Bringing Advanced Care to the Community
Advanced heart failure treatment does not end after surgery. Long-term success depends on close monitoring, expert oversight, and coordinated transplant planning. The Lakewood and Barnegat offices are equipped to perform LVAD interrogations and advanced heart failure evaluations, ensuring patients receive ongoing device monitoring, medication optimization, and transplant coordination close to home.
This integrated model allows patients to stay near their families and support systems while receiving specialized cardiac care. Patients, like Grady Roberts, have access to the same high standards of advanced heart failure care delivered at major cardiac centers right in their own community.
For more information or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Barn, please call 732-930-2721.