Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1322224
St. Joseph's Health Extends Access to Heart Care WITH THAT IN mind, the St. Joseph's Health Cardiovascular Institute has opened a Heart Failure Clinic at its Brittonfield Cardiology office. The Heart Failure Clinic will provide early follow-up (within one week) to patients without an established physician/cardiologist, provide care to the uninsured and serve as a bridge for patients who aren't able to make a follow-up appointment within one week. "We see it time and again. People end up in the ER with heart conditions, and when they are released, they don't see a cardi- ologist fast enough, or they don't start their medications right away," says Russell Silverman, MD, FACC, Medical Director of the St. Joseph's Health Heart Failure Clinic and Chief Medical Officer at Rome Memorial Hospital (RMH). "This can cause continuing heart issues. The incorporation of the Heart Failure Clinic at St. Joseph's Health will further improve access to timely, quality care and improve outcomes for our heart failure patients." The Heart Failure Clinic is a partnership with University of Rochester Medical Center. URMC cardiologists Leway Chen, MD, and Mark Tallman, MD, will each see patients at the Brittonfield location, reducing the need for patients to travel to Rochester for routine care. Developing an advanced heart failure treatment clinic also allows St. Joseph's Health to provide care to its left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patient community — care that is not currently available. "The Heart Failure Clinic improves access to timely, quality care and improve outcomes for our failure patients," Dr. Silverman says. "There's been a need for a clinic like this for many years. St. Joseph's Health saw that need and stepped up to offer this important resource for the community." Strategic placement of the heart failure clinic within the HEART FAIlURE AFFECTS MORE THAN 6 MIllION PEOPlE IN THE UNITED STATES AND IS ESCAl ATING RAPIDlY, WITH AN ESTIMATED 960,000 NEWlY DIAGNOSED CASES ANNUAllY. IN MANY CASES, PATIENTS WHO VISIT THE EMERGENCY ROOM (ER) FOR HEART ISSUES DO NOT ATTEND THE RECOMMENDED FOllOW- UP VISIT WITH A CARDIOlOGIST. THIS lEADS TO CONTINUED CARDIAC ISSUES DOWN THE ROAD. Russell Silverman, MD, FACC, Medical Director of the St. Joseph's Health Heart Failure Clinic and Chief Medical Officer at Rome Memorial Hospital, (pictured on screen) using the Bluetooth technology on a patient. 1 0