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underlying cardiac problems and help surgeons plan for their operations. "On top of that, we have a team of dedicated, exceptionally trained physician assistants, perfusionists and nurses in both the operating room and the intensive care unit to take care of our cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery patients. The backbone of our cardiac services is our team, and we have one that stands on the leading edge of care." airStrip one Cardiology, a wireless system, allows emergency medical technicians to send electrocardiogram readings to the emergency room from the field. According to Dr. Sarabu, reoperation procedures comprise an estimated 10–15 percent of Vassar Brothers Medical Center's cardiothoracic surgery practice, and many of these are not simple redo cardiac bypass procedures. The hospital has excellent outcomes in these reoperations. "Heart disease affects patients of all ages," Dr. Sarabu says. "When they need surgical intervention for their conditions, many times, it has to be a combination procedure. We perform bypass and valve, double valve, bypass and valve reoperations, or any other necessary combination, including aortic aneurysm surgery. This is the norm in this day and age, and even though we perform high-risk operations on a high-risk population, we have very good outcomes." According to Dr. Sarabu, the decision between repairing and replacing a valve depends on the type of damage to the valve, the patient's general health, the condition of the damaged valve, the presence of other health conditions and the expected benefits of surgery. In all cases, the team collaborates to determine the most effective therapeutic option for each diagnosis and creates an individualized plan for every patient. Vassar Brothers Medical Center has garnered many accolades for low mortality rates and the quality care maintained by its cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery departments during the years. Dr. Sarabu explains that only an expert team of providers working together can achieve such a high standard of care. "It's not a one-man show," Dr. Sarabu emphasizes. "Every procedure — surgical or otherwise — needs to be a collective and cooperative effort. We have expert cardiologists at the forefront to diagnose these complex medical conditions and use the right tools to identify any Fostering Reproducible Success Key to the team approach across all Health Quest facilities is a new Cardiovascular Institute model, which aims to systematize operational objectives, policies, priorities, procedures and operational objectives based upon national guidelines introduced by the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, among others. "We wanted to ensure what we're doing correctly at one hospital we're duplicating at every hospital," Dr. O'Dea explains. "Then, those best practices spill over into physicians' practices and foster congruity between the care provided within hospitals and physicians' offices." Sarah B. Levin, MD, FaCC, and Sankar n. varanasi, MD, FaCC, FHrS, review the treatment plan for an ablation patient. mDNeWS.Com ■ MD News Mid Hudson |9