Dr. Rick Bernstein has been around the block a time or two. But in landing in West Michigan recently, he’s enthused about working with ACV and its patients in a long-term commitment.

A native of Chicago, he earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois, and then advanced degrees at Howard University in Washington, D.C. From there, he studied cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the University of Alberta in Canada, then a year of pediatric vascular surgery in England, followed by an endovascular fellowship at Cleveland Clinic.

After meeting the founders of ACV, Bernstein said he decided to stop performing heart surgery and instead “concentrate on preventing amputations and saving people’s legs.” He joined the practice in November 2019.

Prior to that, Bernstein had been practicing in Las Vegas, where his grown son Jordan is a professional musician. Daughter Shane is a speech and language pathologist in New York. Wife Valerie works as a fitness instructor.

Bernstein was drawn to ACV because of its values and mission, and “also because of the world-class expertise that is available there,” he says. “Doctors Mustapha and Saab are really, in my opinion, the best in the world at what they do, and working with them and learning from them has been one of my great pleasures and an amazing medical experience.”

In his spare time, Bernstein tries to hit the gym most days, and he’s looking forward to testing area golf courses on Sunday mornings come more fitting weather.

He calls it “an honor to be with ACV,” and says he looks forward to “making it the duty and joy of the remainder of my career to prevent amputations and save people’s lives.”