JUNE 24, 2015, 10:12 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015, 10:14 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
Researchers at The Valley Hospital and a private lab have developed a blood test that they hope will someday help to detect early-stage lung cancer when it’s most treatable, officials said this week.
If the preliminary findings are replicated in a larger study, oncologists may have a cheaper, less invasive and more accurate test to diagnose the leading cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the nation.
The research focuses on identifying biomarkers — such as a certain protein in the blood — to screen for cancer at the molecular level.
The field of study under way at the Ridgewood hospital and in many other institutions nationwide is known as precision medicine. Researchers hope that it will radically change the way disease is detected, how drugs are developed, and how treatment can be tailored to an individual based on a patient’s genetic makeup to prevent side effects and yield better results.
“It’s detected early so the chemotherapy and radiation can better target the cancer,” said Dr. Ganepola A.P. Ganepola, director of the Center for Cancer Research and Genomic Medicine at Valley, who developed the blood test with the Wistar Institute, a private lab based in Philadelphia.
Recipient of Women’s Choice Award® for Providing Exceptional Patient Care and Treatment in Cancer Care
Ridgewood NJ, For the second consecutive time The Valley Hospital has been named a Women’s Choice Award® recipient as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Cancer Care, acknowledging Valley’s dedication to providing exceptional patient care and cancer treatment care for women and their families.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 1 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with cancer each year. This award signifies Valley’s commitment and passion towards an extraordinary healthcare experience for women and all patients. By carrying the Women’s Choice Award seal, Valley has joined an elite network of hospitals committed to a global mission to empower women to make smart healthcare choices.
“We are proud to be recognized as one of the nation’s best hospitals for cancer care for the second consecutive year,” said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System. “It’s a testament to the priority Valley nurses, physicians and staff place on delivering high-quality, compassionate care to our patients and their families.”
A recent study from the Center for Talent Innovation showed that women make the majority of health care decisions for themselves (94 percent) and also make choices for others (59 percent). It also indicated that they often lack confidence in the decisions they are making due to hectic schedules, lack of reliable information and a general sense of distrust in the industry. More than half of women (53 percent) think they can get the best health information from the Internet, but 31 percent of these women do not trust the information they receive online.
“Now more than ever, the Women’s Choice Award seal serves as a validation to women that they are selecting the best hospitals for their own care and that of their family,” said Sharyn S. Lee, RN, MS, FACEHP, President of the Women’s Choice Healthcare Division.
The Valley Hospital is among the elite group of 331 hospitals who have earned the 2015 Women’s Choice Award by meeting the highest cancer care accreditation standards of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, as well as for their excellence in clinical performance with regard to patient safety measures, and for their high recommendation rate, a measure that is very important to women in choosing a hospital.
Studies have shown that each patient who is dissatisfied will inform up to 10 other people of this dissatisfaction (Health Administration Press). This evidence further exemplifies the important focus on keeping as many people satisfied with their care as possible.
“Women have many choices when it comes to cancer care, but now they can make informed choices based on rigorous evidence based criteria. As a cancer survivor who faced a challenging journey to recovery, I wish I had the Women’s Choice Award as a resource to spare me unnecessary fret and error,” said Delia Passi, Founder and CEO of the Women’s Choice Award. “When faced with cancer you owe it to yourself and your family to get the best treatment,” added Passi.
Regarding “Ridgewood must face suit filed by hospital” (Page L-1, June 2):
Once again, the Valley Hospital debacle raises its ugly head in Ridgewood. How many times do we residents have to vote down the prospect of this expansion in our village?
All this wasted energy and money. What a shame. Leave the hospital as is and build any needed larger facilities on any of the other lands Valley owns. I don’t think many would mind going to another facility, even out of the village, to have diagnostics or testing done. The village has spoken loud and clear. Valley should give it up.
New York hospitals cast an acquisitive eye toward New Jersey
June 3, 2015 Updated 06/03/2015
Wave of mergers shifts market across the Hudson.
By Lisa Ward
More than a dozen hospitals in New Jersey have announced acquisitions in the past two years, a flurry of mergers that has left only a handful of independent hospitals in the state.
But recently, two very large transactions took shape: a merger between Hackensack University Health Network and Meridian Health, and a strategic alliance between Barnabas Health and Robert Wood Johnson Health System. Those two deals could create health systems that rival the scale of their counterparts across the Hudson River—and that threaten current patient-referral patterns to New York hospitals.
“These are heavily advertised to signal to New Jersey consumers that they don’t need to leave the state to get world-class care,” said Katherine Hempstead, a director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The New York City and New Jersey hospital markets are similar in some respects. Both have seen their community hospitals gobbled up by mergers. There has been a wave of affiliations on both sides of the Hudson River—some with national brand names, such as the Cleveland Clinic.
But there is a significant difference between the markets. Unlike New York, the Garden State has no prohibition against private-equity or publicly traded companies from owning hospitals. That regulatory framework means New Jersey hospitals have an advantage: much greater access to capital from deep-pocketed parent companies or partners.
For-profit hospitals and investors started bargain hunting in New Jersey in 2002, intent on scooping up struggling facilities. Today they represent about 15% of the market, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association.
For example, Prime Healthcare Services, a California company, completed its acquisition of St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic for $85 million in August. It is in the process of acquiring St. Claire’s Health System in Dover, Denville and Boonton, as well as St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark.
Private-equity-backed LHP Hospital Group entered into a joint venture with nonprofit Hackensack University Health to buy Pascack Valley Hospital out of bankruptcy for $147 million in 2008, followed by Mountainside Hospital for $190 million in 2012, according to Fitch Ratings.
The merger activity is driven by New Jersey nonprofit hospitals’ efforts to shore up their market positions and balance sheets.
“Hospital expenses are often growing faster than revenues,” said Lisa Goldstein, associate managing director of the Public Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service. She added that mergers have become a way for hospitals nationally to add revenue and reduce fixed expenses, including investment in new technology and payment systems required by national health care reforms.
Barnabas Health bought Jersey City Medical Center in June 2014 and now owns seven acute care facilities, making it the largest hospital operator in the state—for now.
Last month, Meridian Health and Hackensack University Health Network signed a definitive agreement to merge. The new system, Hackensack Meridian Health, is forming after nearly seven months of due diligence. The tie-up still requires state and federal regulatory clearance, expected within nine to 12 months. The 11-hospital system will have about 25,000 employees and nearly 6,000 physicians on staff.
JUNE 1, 2015, 11:09 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015, 11:12 PM
BY LINDY WASHBURN AND DAVE SHEINGOLD
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Two for-profit Hudson County hospitals charge more than any other medical centers in the nation to treat patients for some of the most common diagnoses, according to Medicare data released Monday. One — CarePoint-Bayonne Medical Center — ranked as among the nation’s most expensive for the third year in a row.
The hospitals are owned by CarePoint Health, a group of three private investors that bought them at bankruptcy, stabilized their finances and invested in physical improvements. About 7 percent of the 300,000 patients treated at the chain — which also includes Christ Hospital in Jersey City and Hoboken University Medical Center — actually is billed those charges, according to CarePoint’s CEO, Dennis Kelly.
But that number is expected to climb as Christ Hospital on Monday ended its contract with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s largest insurance plan, and will no longer accept Horizon’s in-network rates as payment in full.
The federal government’s release of the data was timely, as a New Jersey Assembly committee on Monday considered a proposed law to rein in so-called out-of-network fees charged to patients and insurers by hospitals and doctors who do not accept the contracted rates of some insurance plans.
Monday’s data release showed how much 3,000 hospitals nationwide charge Medicare — the government insurance program for those over 65 — for the 100 most common diagnoses. While Medicare pays only a fraction of those charges, the hospitals use those numbers as the basis for their out-of-network charges to insurers and patients.
The data show that Bayonne charged more than any other hospital in the country for 29 of the 100 most common diagnoses, and ranked in the top three for 45 of those diagnoses. Christ Hospital was in the top three for 15 of the 20 most common diagnoses.
Bayonne’s charges for treating heart failure, for example, averaged more than $197,000 — the highest in the country and more than 19 times Medicare’s average payment to the hospital of $10,350. Christ Hospital ranked fourth in the country for the same diagnosis, at $177,620.
In another example, Christ Hospital’s charge for treating a stroke averaged $173,000 — the highest in the country and nearly 17 times Medicare’s payment of $10,241. Bayonne’s charge was second-highest in the country, at $153,740. The data were based on Medicare patients treated in 2013.
Kelly, the CarePoint CEO, defended those bills. Without the ability to charge such rates, or to receive higher reimbursements from insurance networks, he said, “Our safety net hospitals risk closure. Being out-of-network is not a business strategy, it’s a survival strategy.”
The data also revealed the huge range of Medicare charges among New Jersey hospitals for various procedures, including hip or knee replacement surgery, the most common procedure analyzed.
At The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood and St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson for example, hospital charges for major joint-replacement surgery and related costs were just under $54,000 — only four times what Medicare paid those hospitals. At Hackensack University Medical Center, the charges were $70,387; at Englewood Hospital Medical Center, $82,864; and at CarePoint Bayonne Medical Center, $192,657. Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus did not have enough cases for the government to release its average.
JUNE 1, 2015, 6:02 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JUNE 1, 2015, 6:16 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
A Bergen County Superior Court judge has denied Ridgewood’s request to be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by the Valley Hospital after its plan to nearly double in size was rejected.
Judge Lisa Perez Friscia still must rule on whether the Ridgewood Planning Board acted properly in rejecting the hospital’s expansion plan nearly a year ago, the second defeat in four years.
The Ridgewood hospital first proposed a $750 million expansion in 2006 to replace decades-old buildings with modern facilities and all private rooms, an issue that’s divided the village and dominated local politics in several elections since.
Valley’s proposed “Renewal” was turned down twice as concerns grew over the potential impact of construction, increased traffic and the safety of middle school students attending class near the property. The hospital sued in October asking a state judge to end the pricey and protracted stalemate.
May 27,2015
readers and the staff of the Ridgewood blog
“James, you have been anti Valley from the get go. Arrogance? What arrogance? The patience and dignity that the Valley has shown in the face of all the petty attacks it has been subjected to by narrow-minded critics is the embodiment of Grace and Dignity. The Ancient Greeks defined beauty as grace ubder presure. By that count Valley is one beautiful organization. And yes, it is the Crown Jewel of Ridgewood.” Rurik Halaby
It’s interesting how the developers, Valley and the unions are all the same in trying to bully Villagers, and foist their unsustainable plans on Village taxpayers. Valley consumes Village services for free and apparently wants ever more, the developers want densities that will burden our schools, water, sewerage and transportation infrastructure, and the unions want us to pay for CBAs that offer excessive wages and benefits to people in their early 50s and 60s even though we’re all living longer. The common denominator here is “screw taxpayers” who are too busy commuting and raising kids to notice. Enough is enough, we’re being taxed to death. No more.
Ordinance 3066 = Pfund’s Folly was just to allow Valley to try and railroad the Village that built Valley in the first place. Audrey and her board are out of touch, and would be well advised to find new people less interested in Hospital system “empire building” and more interested in being a good neighbor and paying a PILOT for all of the Village services they consume; instead they are suing the same Village who without its good graces, Valley wouldn’t exist in the first place. Shameless behavior and this blog has been right to highlight it.
Tell me, do you think that once the “Grace and Dignity” group gets past the lawsuit they filed against the town that has been taking care of them since 1951, they just might consider taking the “Crown Jewel” and moving it to an area that could better house the monstrosity they want to build here ? I mean, let’s face it, if your “world class” in Ridgewood why can’t you be the same in say, Mahwah ?
The truth is the hospital shot it self in the foot with a lot of arrogant very bad decision making , bad management at its finest , The details of which have been spelled out on this blog over and over ad nauseam . Bad plan ,poorly executed ,leads to disastrous results ie , HUMC might make a run at buying Valley.
Ridgewood NJ, According to the Record updated article ..Last updated: Friday, May 22, 2015, 3:49 PM
“On Friday, hospital officials stressed that their internal records were safe; only the personal information that had been given to the outside billing company by the physician groups who staff their ERs had been compromised. The hospitals were not responsible for hiring the outside billing company.”
So Valley states that their records are safe but your personal billing and credit information was compromised.
Acording to the US Depatment of Health and Human services ; The Office for Civil Rights enforces the HIPAA Privacy Rule, ( The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Rules )
which protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information; the HIPAA Security Rule, which sets national standards for the security of electronic protected health information; the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, which requires covered entities and business associates to provide notification following a breach of unsecured protected health information; and the confidentiality provisions of the Patient Safety Rule, which protect identifiable information being used to analyze patient safety events and improve patient safety.
So were these third parties in HIPPA compliance and was it HIPPA compliant to share the patient info to begin with?
“All of those were who affected have been notified, said Valley spokeswoman Maureen Curran Kleinman.”
“If you got a letter, Valley recommends that you follow the instructions in the letter – secure your free credit protection,’’ she said. “If you didn’t get a letter, you are not at risk.’’
Article also says “Officials at Holy Name and Englewood Hospital said 1,500 patients at each of their hospitals received warning letters from Medical Management about the breach. ..”Valley, which treats about 73,000 patients in its ER each year, did not provide a number.’”
So the question remains , DID Valley send notice letters of this breach or NOT?? to affected patients in its ER from Feb 2013 to Mar 2015?? Haven’t received any notice, and we’ve used Valley ER 4 times during 2013 to 2014. Dose the breach extend to ALL of Valley Health Care Systems??
One attorney Joseph R. Santoli, Esq contacted us and said he is handling the data breach case from my Ridgewood law office. 201-926-9200 .
Valley Health System is leasing space at Mack-Cali Centre III in Paramus. – (MACK-CALI REALTY CORP.)
By Beth Fitzgerald, May 4, 2015 at 1:20 PM
The Valley Health System of Ridgewood has expanded its Paramus footprint with a 10-year lease for 73,978 square feet at the Mack-Cali Centre III in Paramus.
The Mack-Cali property has two towers joined by a seven-story atrium with an on-site café with outdoor seating.
Valley spokeswoman Megan Fraser told NJBIZ “The site is close to the hospital’s Paramus campus, which includes a cancer center and same day surgery center.”
She said it’s also near a 15-acre property that Valley acquired last year.
“As more and more physicians choose to become a part of the system’s Valley Medical Group, we need to offer easy-to-access, beautiful office space for our doctor and their patients,” Frazer said. “In addition, to continue to positively impact the health of the population we serve, we envision developing new clinical and preventive medicine and wellness programs at that site in years to come.”
Ridgewood NJ, which includes The Valley Hospital, Valley Medical Group and Valley Home Care — is using both services to simplify appointment scheduling for patients. Valley Medical Group (VMG) has partnered with ZocDoc to offer online appointment scheduling for select physicians. The Valley Hospital Emergency Department offers InQuicker to allow patients with non-life-threating medical conditions to browse and select a treatment time in advance of arriving at the hospital.
ZocDoc gives patients a simple, convenient way to book a doctor’s appointment at any time, even when the doctor’s office is closed. Appointments can be made with VMG physicians in the following specialties: primary care, cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology, and dermatology. To use this free service, visit www.ValleyMedicalGroup.com and click on the “Book an Appointment” button, or download the ZocDoc app.
“At Valley Medical Group, we are committed to increasing access to our physicians and services and enhancing the patient experience,” said Marc Goldstein, President of VMG. “By offering the option of scheduling medical appointments online with select VMG physicians, we are providing better access to quality care and making the process of scheduling an appointment much more convenient for our patients.”
InQuicker allows patients to browse, select, and lock in a treatment time in Valley’s adult or pediatric Emergency Departments online at www.ValleyHealth.com. Simply click on the ED Check-In Online button at the top of the page and complete a few simple online steps to book a treatment time. The ED is sent a notification with details about the patient and the time selection. A triage nurse then reviews the information and sends a real-time confirmation via phone or e-mail to the patient.
“Knowing their treatment time allows patients to wait comfortably at home before coming to the hospital for care,” said Chris Robertson, Director of Valley’s Emergency Department. “The service has been very well-received by our patients who have used it.”
By Kathleen O’Brien | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on April 21, 2015 at 7:38 AM, updated April 21, 2015 at 1:22 PM
The federal government recently debuted an online tool that lets consumers compare the patient experience at hospitals around the country through its “star” ratings.
A quick stroll through the spreadsheet shows that New Jersey has not a single five-star hospital. It has four four-star hospitals (Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, Deborah Heart & Lung Center in Browns Mills, Virtua West Jersey Hospitals, Berlin, and Inspira Medical Center in Elmer), while the other 58 facilities get just one, two or three stars.
By contrast, the good people of Iowa are blessed with 11 five-star hospitals.
And the world-renowned Mayo Clinic gets only four stars.
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled its star system for rating hospital patient experience, based on patients’ ratings of a hospital’s cleanliness, communication from staff, and attentiveness to patients, and whether it was sufficiently quiet at night.
Those attributes, while admirable, are not necessarily the same as what goes into to providing top-notch care, said David Knowlton of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute.
RIDGEWOOD, N.J., As part of an innovative program aimed at reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital stays, teams comprised of a paramedic, critical care nurse and EMT have begun making house calls on heart patients soon after their discharge from The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ.
Readers says ; Valley Hospital A community hospital that sues the community it is serving https://theridgewoodblog.net/readers-says-valley-hospital-a-community-hospital-that-sues-the-community-it-is-serving/Ridgewood NJ, One can only wonder ,how could such a well financed hospital so poorly execute on its expansion plans and fall pry to one PR disaster after another? Did someone whisper in the ear of the trustees to make them think that at the end of the day Valleys political friends would come through . After all since Valley began pursuing its expansion , HUMC has purchased Pascack Valley , expanded dramatically its foot print and made deals with many of Valleys competitors ?
It all started with the so called Pfund’s Folly, i.e. Ordinance 3066 !!! In the very least repeal the Chapter § 190-143 ( here https://ecode360.com/6694062 ) that allow for applications to amend the Master Plan. Application to Village Council or Planning Board.Any interested party may request that an amendment or amendments be made to the Village Master Plan or development regulations. The request(s) shall be made to the Village Council and/or the Village Planning Board.
As we now know Mayor Pfund was a personal donor to Valley Hospital until 2006, his law firm (Reiseman, Rosenberg & Pfund, LLP) listed Valley hospital as one of its clients on their website until the listing mysteriously disappeared, Pfund’s father has willed part of his estate to Valley after he dies! Yet Pfund has not rescued himself from the considering the H-Zone issue? Others on the Planning Board have for less association.” https://theridgewoodblog.net/because-this-comes-up-over-and-over/
Whats seems odd to most readers is that after a thorough review and denial the previous council Mayor Aronsohn pledged over and over that he would once again .
Even the Ridgewood News commented , “Last Tuesday’s non-partisan election that ousted one of two Village Council incumbents has left residents questioning what the new mix of leaders will bring to the table regarding The Valley Hospital’s proposed expansion plan — an issue considered dormant since last year. Mayor Keith Killion, who voted against the $750 million plan to double the size of the hospital, lost his bid on Tuesday for one of three four-year seats up for grabs on the council. The new council could revisit the vote, because a change in the master plan that could permit the expansion still exists.https://www.northjersey.com/topstories/ridgewood/151331565_Election_opens_questions_on_hospital_plan.html
Which led to Valley resubmitting the expansion plan with no changes from the previous submission.
So what is the case have our political leaders willingly mislead Valley in the hopes of reaping benefits from Valley’s support or has Valley controlled the narrative or as some would say undermined the political process to continue to push its highly unpopular agenda ?
Among the Top 2 Percent of Hospitals in the Nation
April 7, 2015
RIDGEWOOD, NJ., The Valley Hospital announced today that it has achieved two distinctions of quality excellence from Healthgrades – the Healthgrades 2015 Patient Safety Excellence Award™ and the Healthgrades 2015 Outstanding Patient Experience Award™.
Only 93 out of the 3,558 hospitals evaluated for both patient safety and experience excellence had the superior performance to be recipients of both achievements. This places The Valley Hospital among the top 2 percent of all hospitals in the nation for excellent performance in safeguarding patients from serious, potentially preventable complications during their hospital stays, as well as providing a positive experience for patients during their hospital stays.
“I am very proud that Valley has received these recognitions,” said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System. “We understand that patients today have options when it comes to choosing a healthcare provider and it is our goal to be the hospital of choice for the communities we serve. These recognitions of quality excellence are a wonderful reflection of the standard of care we provide to all our patients and a testament to the priority Valley staff and physicians place on achieving the highest-quality clinical outcomes, while delivering the most compassionate care.”
Patient Safety
On average, 133,896 patient safety events could have been avoided if all hospitals, as a group from 2011 from 2013, performed similarly to hospitals performing better than expected on each of 13 Patient Safety Indicators evaluated by Healthgrades.
In addition, during this study period, patients treated in hospitals receiving Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award were, on average:
• 43.9 percent less likely to experience an accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 53.6 percent less likely to experience a collapsed lung due to a procedure or surgery in or around the chest, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 47.4 percent less likely to experience catheter-related blood stream infections, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
• 43.8 percent less likely to experience pressure sores or bed sores acquired in the hospital, than patients treated at non-recipient hospitals.
During the study period (2011-2013), Healthgrades 2015 Patient Safety Excellence Award recipient hospitals performed with excellence in providing safety for patients in the Medicare population, as measured by objective outcomes (risk-adjusted patient safety indicator rates) for 13 patient safety indicators defined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
Patient Experience
In addition to being recognized as one of Healthgrades 2015 Patient Safety Excellence Award, The Valley Hospital also out-performed peer hospitals in patient experience.
Healthgrades evaluated performance by applying a scoring methodology to 10 patient experience measures, using data collected from a 27-question survey of the hospital’s own patients. The survey questions focus on patients’ perspectives of their care in the hospital. Question topics range from cleanliness and noise levels in patient rooms to factors such as pain management and responsiveness to patients’ needs. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family.
“We commend all recipients for their achievements and for demonstrating an organization-wide commitment to delivering high-quality care, protecting patients from potentially preventable complications and ensuring a safe and positive experience for patients,” said Evan Marks, Chief Strategy Officer, Healthgrades.
For more information about Healthgrades or to download a full copy of the report or to receive information about hospital and physician quality, visit:www.Healthgrades.com/quality today.
Valley Health System Joins the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Specialty Network
April 1 ,2015
11:00 AM
RIDGEWOOD, NJ, Valley Health System today announced an affiliation with Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. This affiliation combines the academic, clinical, and research components of the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute with one of the New York/New Jersey area’s leading regional cardiac care providers. Under the agreement, the systems will share best practices, coordinate care and develop programs to improve quality and patient safety.
The Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic has been ranked No. 1 in heart care by U.S. News & World Report for20 consecutive years.
“We could not be more proud that Cleveland Clinic has selected Valley Health System to be a regional cardiovascular affiliate,” said Audrey Meyers, President and CEO of The Valley Hospital and Valley Health System. “This affiliation with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute will further enhance Valley’s cardiac care program, which is already recognized as one of the best in the area.”
“Treating patients with cardiovascular disease is complex, and as new techniques and technologies come to the forefront it’s important to deliver these new innovations quickly to patients,” said Joseph Cacchione, M.D., Cardiologist and Chairman of Operations and Strategy at Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute. “Valley Health System’s cardiac program has a nationally recognized reputation and we are proud to affiliate with Valley to help further advance cardiac care in this region.”
“Valley already has a team of excellent surgeons, cardiologists, nurses and other clinical staff. They have developed one of the region’s leading cardiac programs,” said cardiologist Gerald Sotsky, M.D., Chair of Cardiac Services for Valley Medical Group. “Affiliating with Cleveland Clinic’s world-renowned program and clinical specialists will allow us to advance our program to a level traditionally found at only a handful of facilities in the country.”
Through this affiliation, Valley Health System becomes a member of the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Specialty Network. The Network is designed to accept patients from Cleveland Clinic’s Cardiovascular Program for Advanced Medical Care, which gives employers a means to provide high-quality care to employees by facilitating access to Cleveland Clinic for specific services. The Cardiovascular Specialty Network allows employers to offer their employees Cleveland Clinic-caliber heart care close to home.
“I am honored to be included in the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute’s extended family,” said Alex Zapolanski, M.D., Director of Cardiac Surgery at Valley. “I believe this affiliation offers an opportunity to further advance our programs, and to continue learning from the world-class care provided by the Cleveland Clinic.”
Valley’s heart care has received the following recognitions:
• Listed among the top 15 hospitals in the nation for heart surgery in the August 2014 issue of Consumer Reports magazine;
• Named one America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery™ for 3 Years in a Row (2012-2014) by Healthgrades
• Received Healthgrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award™ for 5 Years in a Row (2010-2014);
• Earned Joint Commission Disease-Specific Care Certification for acute myocardial infarction and heart failure and
• Consistently earned three-star ratings — The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ highest designation of quality and clinical excellence — for cardiac bypass surgery, aortic valve replacement surgery, and the combination of the two procedures.
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