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Brittonfield practice offers availability to stress, echo and EKG services, as well as access to on-site cardiologists. It also supports the goal of reducing preventable readmissions in heart failure patients. IMPROVING ACCESS IN THE MOHAWK VALLEY St. Joseph's Health is also teaming up with RMH to offer patients in rural areas access to highly advanced cardiac care. "Bluetooth stethoscope" technology is now being used at the Cardiovascular Institute at RMH to connect cardiologists to patients without physically being together. "This is truly remarkable technology. It's the first of its kind in the region," Dr. Silverman says. "It enables us to bring high quality heart care to areas that might otherwise not be served by these types of subspecialties." During a consultation, the patient at RMH is accompanied by a nurse or respiratory therapist (RT). They connect via computer to the cardiologist in Syracuse. The cardiologist speaks with the patient to assess how he/she is feeling. Then, the nurse or RT moves the Bluetooth stethoscope to different parts of the patient's chest and neck so the physician can hear and see the patient's heart activity. "Our goal is to use this remarkable technolog y to keep patients close to home," Dr. Silverman says. "By treating their heart issues using the Bluetooth stethoscope, we hope to limit the number of patients who need to be transferred out of town to St. Joseph's Health if they don't need tertiary care. They can stay close to their loved ones, which is what we strive for." St. Joseph's Health and RMH are the only hospitals in the region using this technology. It is currently being utilized for inpatient and ER consultations. n To refer patients to the St. Joseph's Health Cardiovascular Institute in the Dorothy G. G riffin Cardiovascular Center at RMH, call 315-338-7220. To refer patients who need advanced heart failure management to the Heart Failure Clinic at St. Joseph's Health, call (315) 703-5090. In addition, any patient being released from hospitalization at St. Joseph's Health Hospital and other Central New York hospitals, as well as those being discharged from rehabilitation centers, can be referred to the Heart Failure Clinic. St. Joseph's Health is one of only eight hospitals in the nation to be named an American Heart Association Center of Excellence. It was also listed as one of America's 50 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery in a national study by Healthgrades, and it received the highest perfor- mance rating for Heart Bypass Surgery by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit everybeatmatterssjh.org. Bluetooth stethoscope Dr. Silverman performs a stress test on a patient. M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C E N T R A l N E W Y O R K ■ 2 0 21 1 1