Cape Fear Valley Heart Surgery Program Improves Under Cleveland Clinic Affiliation
Cape Fear Valley’s decision to affiliate with Cleveland Clinic for heart surgery is already paying dividends.
Preliminary data released Monday, April 14, shows Cape Fear Valley’s Heart & Vascular Center has made gains in several key areas, including operative mortality rates and overall recovery times for heart surgery patients.
From July through December 2007, operative mortality for patients who underwent open-heart surgery fell to 0.81 percent, compared to a predicted rate of 2.31 percent. This was the six-month reporting period immediately following Cape Fear Valley’s affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.
By comparison, for the first six months of last year, Cape Fear Valley’s operative mortality rate was 2.9 percent, which was still slightly lower than the predicted rate of 3.1 percent for that reporting period.
Cross-clamp times, or the time a heart is stopped during surgery, also improved from an average of 63 minutes in the first half of the year to 55.5 minutes for the final six months of 2007. Shorter cross-clamp times minimize the stress to the heart and lead to fewer complications and better survival rates. By comparison, similar-sized cardiac surgery programs nationwide averaged 65.8 minutes, or 10 minutes more, during the same period.
Patient recovery times improved as well. Post-operative length of stay dropped from 6.9 days in the first half of the year to 6.1 days in the final half. In addition, none of the recovering patients suffered a deep, sternal wound infection following surgery for the entire calendar year. Sternal wound infections are hard to treat and can be fatal.
Cape Fear Valley now has two heart surgeons on its medical staff, both of whom have been credentialed for the Cleveland Clinic medical staff. Having two surgeons has allowed Cape Fear Valley to standardize operating procedures and helped these surgeons maintain and improve their overall skill and proficiency. Both physicians have received additional training and education at Cleveland Clinic since the affiliation began.
Other changes made since the affiliation began include:
Cleveland Clinic’s Heart Center has been ranked number one in America for the past 13 years in a row, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals.” Cleveland Clinic invented coronary angiography, performed the world’s first cardiac bypass and continues to lead the way in developing state-of-the-art cardiac treatments.
Cape Fear Valley is one of just four hospitals to be named a national affiliate of Cleveland Clinic’s heart program. The others are Rochester General in Rochester, N.Y.; The Chester County Hospital in West Chester, Pa.; and McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, S.C.
About Cleveland Clinic: Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Clinic is a not-for-profit multi-specialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. It was founded in 1921 and has 1,800 full-time salaried physicians representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. Patients come to the Cleveland Clinic from every state and more than 80 countries.
About Cape Fear Valley Health System: Cape Fear Valley is a private not-for-profit health system with four hospitals totaling 619 beds, a dedicated Cancer Center, 12 primary care physician practices, Home Health & Hospice, freestanding outpatient care center and three urgent care centers. It is also Cumberland County’s largest private employer with more than 4,700 employees and handles more than 875,000 patient visits annually.
