Affiliation aims to advance cardiovascular care in Central Valley
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VISALIA, Calif. – Kaweah Delta joined forces with Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute, the No. 1 ranked heart program in the U.S., in an effort to help further elevate services for people seeking cardiovascular care in the Central Valley.
As an affiliate, the two organizations will stay independent and physicians and staff in Kaweah Delta’s heart program will remain the same. However, the affiliation will give Kaweah Delta access to best practices that have helped the Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic’s heart program to achieve U.S. News & World Report’s No. 1 cardiology and heart surgery ranking since 1995.
The announcement was made today at press conference in front of more than 100 people at Kaweah Delta in Visalia., Calif.
“It is an honor to be chosen by the Cleveland Clinic as an affiliate and we know the relationship will be mutually beneficial,” said Gary Herbst, Chief Executive Officer of Kaweah Delta, noting that in 2019 Kaweah Delta was named one of America’s 50 Best Hospital for Cardiac Surgery and one of America’s 100 Best Hospital for Cardiac Care. “For the past 34 years, we have provided heart care to our community and kept people close to home with great results, but we know that having this world-renowned peer organization will help us further elevate the care that we provide our community.”
Additionally, as affiliates, Kaweah Delta and Cleveland Clinic’s heart program will share best practices in patient care, outcomes measurement, quality reporting and clinical research. In addition, physician teams from both entities will collaborate to accelerate advances in heart care treatments and protocols. Medical staff members of Kaweah Delta’s heart program were very supportive of the affiliation, said Harry Lively, M.D., Chief of Medical Staff at Kaweah Delta.
“We have a strong cardiovascular program, and this relationship will help us take it to the next level,” Dr. Lively said. “The best get better by collaborating and learning from each other. Collborating with a proven national performer will accelerate our progress toward having a world-class heart program here in Visalia to benefit people throughout the region.”
“Our affiliation will give Kaweah Delta access to the best practices, which will further strengthen their cardiac care,” said Jeffrey Rich, M.D., chairman of strategic operations at Cleveland Clinic’s Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. “Treating patients with cardiovascular disease is complex. Our affiliation with Kaweah Delta will advance heart care in Tulare County.”
Jeffrey Rich, M.D., chairman of strategic operations at Cleveland Clinic’s Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute, said, “Our affiliation will give Kaweah Delta access to the best practices, which will further strengthen their cardiac care,” Dr. Rich said. “Treating patients with cardiovascular disease is complex. Our affiliation with Kaweah Delta will advance heart care in Tulare County.”
The formal affiliation will be beneficial in a variety of ways, said Regina Sawyer, D.N.P., vice president and Chief Nursing Officer of Kaweah Delta, adding, “It has truly been rewarding working with the Cleveland Clinic physicians and staff over the past three years. I look forward to renewed energy and to our continued partnership through formal affiliation.”
Benefits of the affiliation to Kaweah Delta patients and doctors include access to new treatments and technologies, opportunities to collaborate with Cleveland Clinic in medical research, sharing of care pathways, quality processes, outcomes data analysis and medical education opportunities, Herbst said.
“Collaboration and partnership is one of Kaweah Delta’s founding principles, and this relationship with Cleveland Clinic further demonstrates the value of that philosophy,” Herbst said. “The way forward in health care is through alliances that enable sharing of resources, knowledge and skills.”
Contacts:
Kaweah Delta
Laura Florez-McCusker, 559-624-5985(O), 559-280-9374(C)
Cleveland Clinic
Tora Vinci, 216.339.4277
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 52,000 employees are more than 3,600 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 14,000 nurses, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic’s health system includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 11 regional hospitals, more than 150 northern Ohio outpatient locations – including 18 full-service family health centers and three health and wellness centers – and locations in Weston, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2017, there were 7.6 million outpatient visits, 229,000 hospital admissions and 207,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
About Kaweah Delta
Kaweah Delta is a publicly-owned community healthcare organization that provides comprehensive health services to the greater Visalia region and Tulare County. With over 5,000 dedicated medical professionals and employees, Kaweah Delta is committed to meeting the community’s health needs through state-of-the-art medicine, high-quality preventive services and specialized health centers and clinics. For more information, visit www.kaweahdelta.org.
