Cardiology affiliation plans announced

Bay Area Hospital, North Bend Medical Center (NBMC), Bay Clinic and the Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute (OHVI) at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center have announced plans to collaborate in the development and support of a Coos Bay/North Bend-based interventional cardiology program, Bay Area Cardiology Network, to serve the Southern Oregon Coast. The program will involve clinical cardiology practice based at NBMC and also at Bay Clinic, hospital-based and interventional services at Bay Area Hospital, electrophysiology, a cardiac catheterization lab and development of a comprehensive cardiac care program. Cardiologist Dr. Satyendra Giri will lead the team in the new cardiac catheterization lab starting this spring.

The affiliation with PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center brings the expertise of one of Oregon’s largest cardiology programs to the development of enhanced cardiology services in the Coos Bay/North Bend area.

“South Coast residents are the winners in this significant commitment to expand cardiology services,” said Paul Janke, CEO of Bay Area Hospital. “Our longstanding relationship with Sacred Heart makes this affiliation a natural next step in our continuing efforts to provide our community with quality heart care that lets them heal close to home.”

Currently, many South Coast residents must travel outside the area to obtain the vital heart-related services they need. The new services will include both advanced diagnostic procedures used to determine the severity and extent of cardiovascular problems, as well as interventional procedures performed to repair blocked vessels and improve the heart’s blood flow, and cardiac rhythm management. Many such procedures to diagnose or treat heart conditions are performed in a catheterization lab and involve inserting a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into large arteries. The facilities for these new hospital-based services are part of the Bay Area Hospital facility expansion.

Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute is assisting Bay Area Hospital in areas such as recruiting cardiologists, developing a catheterization lab and expanding the program to include additional minimally invasive procedures and heart failure management, among other services. OHVI cardiologists will travel to Coos Bay to see patients and will also provide backup assistance to Dr. Satyendra Giri at Bay Area Hospital. In addition, the affiliation will enable streamlined access to the higher-level services and resources available at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, should patients require them.

“We are excited by the potential to make this relationship with Bay Area Hospital a prototype for the kind of collaboration that will enhance the delivery of safe, efficient, quality care in the communities we serve,” said Roger Saydack, Interim Administrator at Sacred Heart. “For the past 45 years, Sacred Heart has treated thousands of Coos Bay and coastal patients in collaboration with their hometown providers, clinics and hospitals. We believe strongly that care that can be delivered locally should be delivered locally, so that patients can be near their families and support networks. In the event that a patient needs a higher level of care than is available in the community, we strive to make the transition to care at RiverBend as seamless as possible.”

Dr. Giri will begin seeing patients on May 1, 2013.