1623 Route 88 West Suite A Brick, NJ 08724 732-458-9666 Fax: 732-458-0840
2 Apple Farm Rd. Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-671-5659
Our History
History of Our Office
This office was opened by Dr. Mitchel Alpert in June of 1987 as the only full time practice of Pediatric Cardiology in Ocean County. Before 1987 children with even the most simplest of cardiac concerns had to travel a great distance including New York City and Philadelphia. With the great support of physicians and parents, this practice underwent an unprecedented growth and by 1990 a second office had been established in Red Bank so as to give more local service to both Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Both offices are currently open every weekday.
As the practice of Pediatric Cardiology expanded in its knowledge and diversity, other doctors were recruited to this practice. In 1998 Dr. Vincent Zales, who had been the Director of the Transplant Program at Northwestern University in Chicago and had held the position of Director of Pediatric Cardiology at the Deborah Heart and Lung Center, was recruited to this practice. Dr. Zales brought to this practice an expertise in Cardiac Catheterization and a tremendous amount of experience in treating critically ill children and postoperative children.
As Fetal Echocardiography began to expand in the late 1990’s, there became a need to have an individual who was truly gifted and talented in this regard. Dr. Elsa Castro joined this practice in late 2001. After spending a year learning Fetal Echocardiography at the world renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Dr. Castro quickly established herself as an expert in Fetal and Neonatal Medicine and now has created a flourishing practice in this specialized field so that pregnant mothers with questions about their baby’s heart may remain in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.
For September of 2009 we have added another Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Maria Angela Umali. Dr. Umali is actually home grown having completed her Pediatric Residency at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center before completing a Pediatric Cardiology fellowship in Virginia. Dr. Umali adds another female to the practice and another specialist in Fetal Echocardiography in addition to all aspects of general Pediatric Cardiology.
It was hard to envision that when this practice opened in 1987 that it could be so well received that there are now three full time Board Certified Pediatric Cardiologists, all with different fields of expertise. One of these three physicians can be seen to round every day of the week seeing patients with the Residents and Medical Students at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune New Jersey a major teaching affiliate of the University of Medicine and Dentistry-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick.
