Pasco-Hernando State College Volume XIII, Issue I - Spring 2019 | Page 23

Q: WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO PASCO COUNTY, FLORIDA?
A: The weather…and destiny. I relocated in 1981 without knowing a single person in
Pasco or Hernando counties.
Q:
WHAT HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN
LIKE IN THE COMMUNITY?
A:
My success, in part, is owed to the
first administrator of a newly built 50
bed rural hospital in Hudson, now Regional
Medical Center Bayonet Point. The first
day I walked into the hospital with full
cardiology credentials and privileges, the
administrator informed me that foreign
physician specialists were not needed. They
wanted to build a reputable hospital with
“good old boys,” and I could leave town. I
accepted this as a challenge and stayed.
The rest is history. I became instrumental in
building a nationally acclaimed heart institute
in Hudson, recognized as among the top 50
U.S. hospitals for cardiology and cardiac
surgery by U.S. News and World Report.
I also built a premier “continuing medical
education program.” During this time, the
same administrator who had told me to
leave town had a severe heart attack with
cardiogenic shock. I was able to save his life.
A few years later, I became chairman of the
hospital board, a volunteer job.
Dr. Musunuru at an American College of Cardiology
fellowship reception in 1981, right after establishing
his practice in Hudson, Florida.
SPRING 2019
23