New board member

Anyone who’s met Providence St. Joseph Hospital’s noninvasive cardiology medical director Thomas C. Kim, M.D., FACC, appreciates his sense of humor and down-to-earth manner. Although he’s an eminent cardiologist, he hasn’t lost his boyish grin. According to Dr. Kim, he was a spirited child. “I was a nightmare for my parents,” he laughs. “They always had to apologize to our building manager because I was running around and making too much noise.”

Born in LA, Dr. Kim spent his childhood in Seal Beach. The rambunctious boy grew up to channel his boundless energy into becoming a physician. After attending Chicago Medical School and completing his residency and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Kim returned to his roots in California.

Building a top-notch program

Shortly after making Providence St. Joseph his primary practice location in 2010, Dr. Kim identified the need to create a structural heart disease program. He started by presenting a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program to the hospital administration.

“Building a new program takes a lot of planning and coordination, hiring the right team members, communication and financial backing,” says Dr. Kim. “Despite the big endeavor and expenses, the hospital listened to the vision, saw the value it provided to the community and supported us in building the TAVR program from the very beginning.”

The TAVR program laid the groundwork for the structural heart disease program.  With the support of his team and the administration, Dr. Kim moved on to build the minimally invasive MitrClip and WATCHMAN programs. The WATCHMAN program at Providence St. Joseph was so successful that Providence launched it at other locations. 

“I appreciate the collaborative relationship between physicians and the administration here at Providence St. Joseph,” he says. “Collaboration and mutual respect are critical to making top-notch heart care accessible to this community.”

Dr. Kim brings incredible value to the hospital, its Foundation, and most importantly, our community and patients. He serves on the hospital’s Medical Executive Committee, is on the Foundation’s Physician Leadership Council, and most recently, became a Foundation board member. He’s planning to use his new platform on the Foundation board to get the word out about the excellence of the hospital’s cardiac program.

“We have one of the top cardiac programs in all of Southern California,” he says. “According to U.S. News & World Report, we are recognized as one of the nation’s High Performing Hospitals for our TAVR program. We are No. 1 in Orange County and qualify as a high-volume center. It’s the only three-star program — the highest rating awarded by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology — in California, putting it in the top 3% of hospitals in the nation.”