Our History
California Pacific's Heart Care Legacy
Frank Gerbode, M.D., Founder
Frank Gerbode, M.D. was the founder of the Medical Research Institute and Heart Research Institute at Presbyterian Hospital-Pacific Medical Center, now known as the Pacific Campus of California Pacific Medical Center. An internationally known cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Gerbode was a pioneer in open heart surgery, performing the first successful open heart surgery on the west coast in 1954 at what was then Presbyterian Hospital. He surrounded himself with innovators who shared his vision assembling a research group, whose creativity and skill led to the first successful routine membrane oxygenator. He was the chief of cardiovascular surgery at Presbyterian Hospital-Pacific Medical Center from 1960 until 1979 and a prime mover in the development of the heart valve bypass technique, now the standard open heart operating procedure.
A native Californian, Dr. Gerbode was born in the foothill town of Placerville and educated at Stanford University and Stanford Medical School, which was at the time located in San Francisco. In 1959 Stanford Medical School moved to Palo Alto to become part of the Stanford University Campus and Dr. Gerbode stayed in San Francisco. He helped establish a new private medical center, Presbyterian Hospital now known as California Pacific Medical Center, on the site of the former Stanford University School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Gerbode founded and was the first President of the Institutes of Medical Sciences, now the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. He was the head of the Heart Research division at the Research Institute until his death in 1984.
Dr. Gerbode devoted over 40 years of his career to research, surgery and teaching. He trained surgeons through the world and from the mid 1950’s through the mid 1970’s there were nearly 200 fellows in Dr. Gerbode's Cardiovascular Fellowship program.