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About the Cleveland Clinic Heart Surgery Program Affiliation
1 How does this affiliation enhance PMC’s mission?
I
have always believed the people of our region deserve health care that
is the absolute best. We strive for perfection in accomplishing our
mission to provide quality regional health care in a Christian
environment. Affiliating with Cleveland Clinic, the undisputed leader in
heart surgery in the United States, and quite possibly the world, means
we’re doing everything we can to be the absolute best.
2 Why did Pikeville Medical Center decide to join Cleveland Clinic with this affiliation? How did the affiliation come about?
We
want to have the number one heart program in our region. Certainly, we
recognized Cleveland Clinic for their accomplishments, and realized that
an affiliation with them would propel us to where we want to be. Once
they came in and looked at our program, they agreed that we were on the
right track. Cleveland Clinic doesn’t enter into affiliations lightly,
but they were impressed with what we are doing, and they readily agreed
to the arrangement.
3 What does this affiliation mean to patients here in Pikeville?
It
means the patients who come here for heart surgery will receive the
same kind of quality care, from Cleveland Clinic-credentialed doctors,
that they would receive at the Cleveland Clinic. We will mirror their
best practices and protocols here at Pikeville Medical Center. Due to
this affiliation and the high quality program we have in Pikeville, we
plan on doubling the number of heart surgeries we do here in the first
year of the affiliation.
4 What are some of the “stand-out” areas of PMC’s Heart Institute?
Our
team of surgeons is a big plus — they’re experienced and at the top of
their game. We also offer the latest technologies and equipment for our
patients. And our post-operative follow up is something we’re proud of.
5 What is at the heart of this expansion?
Pikeville
Medical Center will never rest on its laurels. We were named National
Hospital of the Year, and that is just a starting point for us.
We’ve
just been notified that once again, PMC is one of the Top 10 Hospitals
of Choice, a distinction reserved for the best of the best…and while the
awards and accolades keep pouring in, it’s all for one basic reason: we
want to save more lives. I said it before, but it’s worth repeating:
the people who live in this region deserve the absolute best health care
in the world.
Pikeville Medical Center will keep doing
everything we can to provide it to them. That’s why we’re affiliated
with Cleveland Clinic heart surgery, and that’s why we will keep working
to improve everything we do, every day.
1 What is Cleveland Clinic’s mission?
The
mission of Cleveland Clinic is to provide compassionate health care of
the highest quality in a setting of education and research.
2 How have affiliations like this one enhanced the Cleveland Clinic’s mission?
With
each new venture you encounter, you learn something new. We learn from
every hospital we are affiliated with, and I think that in the area of
processes, we now have a lot of different hospitals that we’ve helped.
3 Why does Cleveland Clinic create heart surgery program affiliations?
When
we get involved in an affiliation, it’s because we believe there’s
something we can do alongside another hospital to accomplish better
health care. That’s determined usually because we believe there’s an
administration we can accomplish it through.
Through
affiliations we help each other determine answers to questions like,
“what should our program be doing? What makes sense? Where is it going
to go when this new device comes out? Should we be using it? If we
should be using it, how do we go about doing that?”
4 What are some of the “stand-out” areas of PMC’s heart surgery?
They’re
doing a really excellent job of taking care of people who have coronary
artery disease from the local area and show very effective quality
metrics and impressive outcomes on measurements on length of stay and
other related issues.
5 What do you think will be the first area of recognizable improvement?
The
first thing we want to improve is to get our information systems into
sync. We also want to review the baseline national metrics that are
established by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
6 Will you personally be working with our surgeons? How many doctors will be working with PMC?
Yes.
The three doctors that will be most involved in this area are myself,
Dr. Larce Spencen and Dr. Joseph Kashown. These two physicians,
including myself, are the most involved in these areas.
Although,
when a specific case arises, we call upon someone who has that as their
area of expertise, using their experience, as needed, to help.
7 Do other affiliations of Cleveland Clinic ever have interaction with one another?
There
is usually not a lot of direct interaction, although twice a year we
host a meeting where affiliate representatives gather to discuss and try
to solve problems that are common among many institutions.
8 What has been the biggest challenge and success with affiliations?
The
biggest challenge we have right now is across the country the number of
cardiac surgery cases is in decline. The reasoning for this is the
change of the use of bypass surgery to treat coronary artery disease. In
many areas, the number of interventions is also in decline.
9 How do you plan to communicate with PMC?
There
are basically three ways we communicate. One, we travel to Pikeville;
two, we use the telephone and three we videoconference. Previously,
we’ve used all of those tools to communicate with our affiliates.
Realistically, one of the problems with Pikeville is our ability to
travel. We believe we solved this problem, but the process of
communicating with PMC is ongoing and we will use whatever tool is best
for the occasion.
10 What new advancements are being
planned in Cleveland, and once you implement new programs, how much time
will pass before your affiliate organizations will implement the
programs?
That depends on what it is and the hospital’s
infrastructure. Again, that’s a question of how it works the best. An
initiative we are going forward with deals with how to monitor heart
failure patients at home. This initiative is one that, I think, is going
to fit very well at Pikeville Medical Center.
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Pikeville Medical Center's Heart Institute offers comprehensive cardiac care to the people of Eastern Kentucky. Featuring Interventional Cardiology, Open Heart Surgery and a 2 Stage Cardiac Rehab program, PMC strives to be your #1 choice when it comes to your heart!
In an effort to better meet the needs of our patients, Pikeville Medical Center has invested in some of the most advanced cardiac equipment and technologies available.
Not only is PMC equipped with the latest technology, but our Heart Institute Team is among one of the best you'll find anywhere!
As the region's leader in healthcare, Pikeville Medical Center offers comprehensive care for your heart. Making huge strides for this area, PMC's Heart Institute excels in prevention, early detection, patient care and education.
