The Ambulatory Cardiac Care Center at Hahnemann Hospital

To date, there are six independent physician groups participating in the center, with other physicians coming on board. No interventional procedures are performed at our facility. However, should an emergent case arise, it is promptly dealt with by means of an intra-facility transfer agreement with Hahnemann University Hospital. Patients go directly to the HUH Interventional Cardiovascular Laboratory for acute interventions or the Operating Room for emergent CABG. The charge person of the day will contact HUH Admissions to facilitate the transfer process. At this particular point, information is gathered about the patient, such as insurance, primary care provider and his or her overall status. Once all information has been obtained, the patient is quickly transferred to Hahnemann and sent directly to their patient room, the interventional cath lab or the operating room. Southern Medical Corporation (SMC), a cardiology medical resource company and an affiliate company of Tenet Healthcare System, manages the Cardiac Care Center. The Cardiac Care Center offers patients and their families a VIP service environment that is second to none. Each patient is offered complimentary parking just a few feet from the dedicated entrance specifically for the Cardiac Care Center. We’re proud of our combination of technology with customer service and physician satisfaction. Upon the patient entering the center, he or she is greeted with warm friendly smiles and offered any additional assistance. A business center with Internet access and an entertainment center with audiovisual aides are also available to waiting patients and their family members. Each patient is then escorted to a private guest room with additional amenities. Prior to discharging the patient, family members and the physician meet in the Transition Room, which provides comfort and privacy to review and discuss the angiograms obtained during their catheterization. Each patient may obtain a copy of his or her procedure on CD if requested. The Cardiac Care Center has a staff composed of Registered Nurses (RNs), Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialists (RCISs), Non-registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialists and a Front Desk Coordinator. All staff members are highly trained and have a strong Critical Care/Cardiology background. The CCC performs anywhere from 7 to 12 patients daily, with a room turnover time of 15 minutes or less. We use the Siemens Cathcor for hemodynamic monitoring and the Axiom-Artis. Generally, the physicians at the CCC scrub independently. Nevertheless, when the need arises, any clinical staff member will assist. Upon completion of the study, the clinical staff member takes the patient to the patient’s Guest Room, where sheaths are pulled. General recovery time prior to discharge can be anywhere between 3 to 6 hours. Some of our patients receive various sealing devices, deployed by the cardiologist, allowing for a shorter recovery time. The Front Desk Coordinator ensures that all supplies are ordered in a timely manner and manages the inventory. All inventory items used are entered into the Cathcor during each case and downloaded weekly to gather an account of what needs to be reordered. Our Cath Lab Nurse Manager or Front Desk Coordinator will review this report and then order any required items. Dr. Mark Victor, the Medical Liaison for the Cardiac Care Center, comments that the ability to please a diverse physician population from all over the Delaware Valley was one of our biggest challenges. Many of the physicians work at tertiary care centers that would be expected to compete with the Cardiac Care Center. Nevertheless, the synergies have outweighed any perceived issues and we are optimistic that the CCC will continue to grow. We are blessed with caring, supportive and extremely knowledgeable staff whose talents are repeatedly praised by our patients and their families. It has been very gratifying for me to watch an idea come to reality. For more information concerning the Cardiac Care Center and its services, please contact Chris Coyne, RN-Cardiac Care Center Manager, at (215) 762-7350. For more information about Southern Medical, please visit: www.southernmedical.com

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