(LITTLE
ROCK, ARK.) – St. Vincent Health System and Heart Clinic Arkansas are excited to
announce that, as of January 1, 2012, Heart Clinic Arkansas has joined St.
Vincent in the development of The Jack
Stephens Heart Institute, LLC. Heart
Clinic Arkansas is joining three of the state’s premier cardiovascular
surgeons, Drs. F. Michael Bauer, Frederick Meadors, and Charles Watkins, who formed
the Heart Institute in June 2011.
Heart
Clinic Arkansas, now known as St. Vincent Heart Clinic Arkansas, is the state’s
largest cardiology group with 29 physicians.
They provide service in over 17 communities across the state, with
permanent office locations in Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Searcy.
“This alignment
represents a truly unique opportunity to partner with the best surgeons in the
state and a hospital system with a long-standing tradition and commitment to
excellence to develop a nationally-recognized center for cardiovascular care,”
says Randy Jordan, MD, former president of Heart Clinic Arkansas. “The key to our success is that the
physicians will have direct responsibility for both governing and leading all
aspects of the Institute. That will
further our ability to radically transform the quality, service, safety, and
cost of cardiovascular care in our community.”
The
initial Board members of the Jack Stephens Heart Institute include: J. Lynn
Davis, MD, Chairman of the Board; Scott Rypkema, MD, cardiologist, Mark St.
Pierre, MD, cardiologist; Fred Meadors, MD, cardiovascular surgeon; Andrew
Kumpuris, MD, cardiologist; Dave Parker, Chairman, SVHS Board of
Directors; Peter Banko, SVHS President
& CEO; and Jon Timmis, SVHS SVP
& Chief Strategy Officer. Marcia
Atkinson is the VP/Administrator of the Heart Institute and Randy Jordan, MD is
the Chief Medical Officer.
Similar
to the alignment with the cardiovascular surgeons, St. Vincent has acquired the
entire practice and now directly employs all personnel formerly employed by
Heart Clinic Arkansas. “We are making a
mutual commitment to each other and to the community by literally going all-in”,
Peter D. Banko, President & CEO of St. Vincent, says of the decision to
have St. Vincent acquire the practice verses some looser affiliation. “In December 2009, we developed a bold vision
of the future of cardiovascular care in our community and we agreed at that
time that all partners need to be completely aligned and make long-term
commitments to one another.”
As part
of the development of The Jack Stephens Heart Institute and to develop a true
regional center, St. Vincent has committed an investment of $36 million to
bring the latest in technology available today in the diagnosis and treatment
of cardiovascular care. The showpiece of
the investment is the addition of a hybrid cath lab, the first non-academic
hybrid technology in the state. The
hybrid lab combines imaging and surgery in a way that cardiovascular surgeons,
cardiologists, and radiologists can treat a patient simultaneously in the same
suite and perform procedures only done in the largest centers in the country
(such as minimally invasive procedures including catheter-based valve
replacements). “This technology will transform how we approach certain
cardiovascular treatments and place us among the premier programs in the
country,” stated Fred Meadors, MD.
Among the
other investments in the development of the Heart Institute include the
construction of four new cardiovascular operating suites, replacement of seven
cath labs at St. Vincent Infirmary and St. Vincent North, two 64-slice CT
scanners to be central to the new chest pain centers in Little Rock and North
Little Rock, and renovation of existing patient care units to provide increased
cardiovascular and critical care capacity.
St.
Vincent Health System, founded in 1888, is one of Arkansas' leading health
systems. St. Vincent Infirmary Medical
Center, an acute care facility, licensed for 619 beds, located in Little Rock,
serves as the hub of the health system.
Other St. Vincent hospitals include St. Vincent North, licensed for 69
beds, in Sherwood; and St. Vincent Morrilton, licensed for 49 beds, in
Morrilton. The system also includes a
network of primary care clinics, home health agency and affiliations with more
than 650 physicians. St. Vincent is part
of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), a national nonprofit health organization
with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The faith-based system operates in 19
states and includes 73 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and
residential-living facilities; two community health services organizations; and
home health agencies.
