PR rep's heart grows stronger

In the world of getting your business known, Suzie Boland is one of the stars, a public relations dynamo with more than two decades' experience.

So when she's missing from the public relations scene, people know about it, if not necessarily why.

Turns out Boland, president of RFB Communications Group Inc. in Tampa, is recovering from mitral valve repair surgery she had May 13 at St. Joseph's Hospital. And according to her staff, it went well. Boland actually went home earlier than expected May 20, after, of course, she started taking media and client calls from her hospital bed.

Boland can't drive yet, and is spending limited time in the office. But she expects to get back to her normal schedule by the end of June.

Mitral valve repair fixes the inflow valve on the left side of the heart, according to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. The valve is designed to keep blood from leaking back into the lungs. By fixing it early, doctors say it can prevent irreversible damage to the heart.

Boland was able to plan the procedure weeks in advance, allowing time to get the rest of her team up to speed on her daily routine. One of her associates, Jill Moore, says Boland is so good, her shoes are “unfillable.”

Boland's clients have included CarMax, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Harvard Jolly and HSN. Boland is also one of the founding advisory council members of STAR Technology Enterprise Center, a Pinellas County business incubator.