Lahey Hospital News

When Gilbert Lopes flew from his home in Bermuda to Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in 2015 for his annual physical, he had no idea he’d soon be having lifesaving heart surgery.

Bill Armstrong was renowned for his loyalty, and this extended to his business partnerships, especially with Lahey Health. Over the years, Armstrong witnessed firsthand what it was like to be a patient at LHMC, and he developed confidence in Lahey care.

For the past 27 years, volunteers from Lahey Hospital and Medical Center have headed to the Viedma Hospital in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where they spend a week caring for 400 to 500 patients with potentially fatal heart and vascular problems. Public radio and television announce their arrival in this poor South American country with limited medical resources, and sick people travel days to see them.

These are heady times for Cynthia Gruber, a Concord resident who has been a longtime supporter of Lahey Health. She and a filmmaker colleague, Richard Tilkin, produced a documentary about facing death called “Aside From That,” which just won its first award at an international film festival in Houston.