CVPH/Fletcher Allen to work collaboratively with heart-surgery programs [The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.]

Jan. 07--PLATTSBURGH -- CVPH Medical Center here and Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington have initiated a historic working relationship to provide a vibrant heart-surgery program for residents across the region.

Dr. Frank Ittleman, associate vice president of operations for the University of Vermont Medical Group and chief of Fletcher Allen's heart-surgery program, has been appointed medical director of cardiothoracic surgery at CVPH.

Ittleman will provide oversight for CVPH's heart-surgery program, including guidance for quality assurance, coordination of patient referrals when appropriate, and coordination of continuing medical education requirements for the hospital's heart-surgery program.

"We are very pleased, extremely grateful," CVPH President Stephens Mundy said of the affiliation during a press conference announcing the agreement Friday afternoon.

"Health-care reform is taking a wide swath through the health-care industry, and we're not immune to that. We're in an environment that used to be competitive but is now more collaborative."

CLOSER TO HOME

The New York State Department of Health requires community hospitals such as CVPH that provide heart-surgery services to have a mentoring agreement with a major medical center. Prior to the first open-heart procedures it performed seven years ago, CVPH had developed such an agreement with St. Peter's Hospital in Albany.

St. Peter's cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Ed Bennett was a major player in development of that early relationship, but he has since moved on, giving CVPH the opportunity to look closer to home for a mentoring facility.

Since an overwhelming majority of CVPH patients transferred for heart services go to Fletcher Allen, establishing a collaborative agreement between the two seemed a natural fit.

"I'm very excited about this relationship," said Dr. Anne Cahill, board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon, who will continue to perform heart-surgery procedures at CVPH. "We will continue to have a shared goal to provide excellent care to the community, and my personal goal is to increase that level of care."

Cahill noted that she has been working collaboratively with Ittleman since she first came to Plattsburgh two years ago, and the affiliation between CVPH and Fletcher Allen will be a formal continuation of that partnership.

Ittleman has been performing cardiac surgeries at Fletcher Allen for 30 years. He will not actually do procedures in Plattsburgh but will work closely with Cahill and the staff to ensure the best quality care continues.

TRUST, COLLABORATION

Ittleman also thanked CVPH and the New York State Health Department for working to complete the mentoring approval process.

"We have a mutual respect and trust for each other," he said of the relationship he has shared with Cahill. "The collaboration between both institutions will only continue to get better in the future.

"Competition will be deleted from the equation," he added. "We will engender trust and collaboration, not competition. Those days are behind us."

Working together, both facilities can identify which patients will undergo procedures at CVPH and which might be better suited for Fletcher Allen. Patients who do have their surgeries in Vermont can undergo preliminary work and follow-up care at CVPH, Cahill noted.

The two facilities will also continue to work toward developing an effective electronic medical-records process between them, Mundy said. Electronic medical records has been a main focus at CVPH over the past several years.

The agreement, which does not include CVPH Medical Center's other heart services, such as angioplasty, also paves the way for possible collaborative efforts in other areas, Mundy added.

"We certainly will look at other possibilities," he said. "It's important now to focus on this first one and do really well with it."

Email Jeff Meyers at: [email protected]

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