KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Two local health care providers have formed a partnership they say will help the region’s residents by expanding access to cardiac care and streamlining delivery of those services.
On Tuesday, Wellmont Health System and Cardiovascular Associates announced they have teamed up to form the Wellmont CVA Heart Institute, which formalizes a long-standing working relationship and will be based out of their current facilities.
“This is truly a watershed event,” said Denny DeNarvaez, president and CEO of Wellmont, a network of eight nonprofit hospitals in the region, including Bristol Regional Medical Center and Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport.
Almost 10 percent of the region’s residents suffer from coronary heart disease, according to a 2007 survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Only 8 percent of Tennessee’s residents and 6.1 percent of Virginia’s residents suffer from this condition, the survey found.
Executives with Wellmont and Cardiovascular Associates, a Kingsport-based network of 38 cardiologists, talked briefly about the local statistics and the fact that heart disease is the country’s No. 1 killer, during a news conference held at Wellmont’s headquarters in Kingsport to announce the partnership.
Representatives from both companies said the new institute formalizes the close working relationship they’ve enjoyed and will eventually improve the services they offer to the community.
“We’ll be able to coordinate [those services] on a much higher level,” said Herb Ladley, a board certified interventional cardiologist with Cardiovascular Associates.
As a result of the new partnership, Ladley said both will use the same electronic system to keep track of patients’ test results, treatment information and other medical records.
The records-sharing system guarantees that heart patients who visit a Wellmont hospital in Pennington Gap, Va., or Rogersville, Tenn., will be seamlessly connected to the practice’s main heart center in Kingsport, he said.
The new partnership also means that Cardiovascular Associates’ cardiologists will increase the number of clinics they run in these remote hospitals, which will mean better access to cardiac care for those living in these communities.
gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518
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