Maui Memorial Medical Center has found a cardiac surgeon for its new cardiovascular program.

The hiring of Dr. Richard "Pat" Cochran, effective Aug. 1, will enable the Wailuku hospital to perform angioplasty and open-heart surgeries, said chief executive officer Wesley Lo.

Maui Memorial last year received state approval for its cardiovascular program, which includes development of a Heart, Brain and Vascular Tower. Planning and design work on the project is expected to start within a year, Lo said.

Maui Memorial was also authorized by the Legislature to issue $150 million in revenue bonds for the new tower.

Cochran is the medical director of cardiothoracic surgery at the Central Maine Heart and Vascular Institute in Lewiston, Maine. He has taught medicine and surgery at several universities and headed cardiovascular programs at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Seattle and Parkland Hospital in Dallas.

In 2006, Cochran was named by the Consumer Research Council of America as one of America's top surgeons in cardiothoracic surgery.