Getting to know Bellin Health Heart and Vascular Center
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PrintOne of my goals for this blog is for you to feel comfortable and confident in the information that you are receiving. To help establish this level of comfort, it will be helpful for you to know a little bit more about Bellin Health Heart and Vascular Center. You can also click on the "Bellin Health" link in the right hand column to learn more about the vision, mission and philosophy of Bellin Health.
What makes Bellin an expert in the field of cardiovascular disease? Certainly, experience counts. As does proven results. Above and beyond that is a key philosophy - Bellin Health exists to help people live longer, healthier and more fullfilling lives.
Since 1972 the Bellin Health Heart and Vascular Center, along with its physician partners, have been defining excellence in cardiovascular care for the people of Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
According to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, getting to the right hospital can improve the chances of survival by as much as 40%. What is the right hospital? The hospital that provides emergency access, advanced cardiac catheterization capabilities and a comprehensive cardiovascular surgery program. The Bellin Health Heart and Vascular Center combines these qualities with the highest level of technology, skill and experience to be rated among the top cardiovascular programs in the country.
The staff here performs about 660 cardiac and vascular surgeries annually, along with more than 2,100 cardiac cath lab procedures and roughly 10,500 cardiac and vascular diagnostic studies. Studies have shown high-volume cardiac centers, like ours, produce better outcomes for our patients.
When you are having a heart attack, time is critical. We measure the time from the moment you come through the door, to the time we are opening up the artery in your heart. This is called, door-to-balloon time. The American College of Cardiology says that hospitals should get a heart attack victim into the cath lab within 90 minutes of arrival. The National Average is 149 minutes, but Bellin Health consistently has door-to-balloon times of less than 60 minutes.
Bellin is committed to identification, prevention and best care of our cardiovascular population. This commitment is demonstrated through involvement in numerous national research studies and by developing new programs for early identification of heart and vascular disease. Examples of these programs include the $50 Cat Scan Calcium Scoring test to look for calcium build up in the coronary (heart) arteries, and also the FREE Vascular Assessment to evaluate for undiagnosed peripheral artery disease. If you are interested in either of these tests, please call 920-445-7363, to schedule an appointment.
Bellin Health System continually works on quality and process improvement inititatives. We are transparent with our quality data and want you to research and compare quality measures, so you can make the right choice when you are faced with a critical health care decision. The Wisconsin Collaborative on Healthcare Quality, www.wchq.org, is a good source and so is the Leapfrog Group for patient safety, www.leapfroggroup.org.
At Bellin, our Heart and Vascular Center has more than 35 years experience in all facets of cardiac care, making us the most experienced program in the region. Our entire staff is dedicated to achieving outstanding clinical performance through continuous devotion to quality patient care.
Thanks for taking some time to get to know us. We'll be here if you ever need us.
I just finished Bellin's MI
Submitted by char (not verified) on Thu, 2009-02-12 10:16.I just finished Bellin's MI stats for 4Q08. The median Door to Balloon time was 39 minutes.
Great news Char! Thank-you
Submitted by Kelly Galler on Thu, 2009-02-12 14:49.Great news Char! Thank-you for sharing. Just to clarify for everyone else, Char is a master's prepared nurse who works for Bellin, in the Quality Resource Center. Her job involves chart reviews of every patient who comes to Bellin Hospital with a heart attack. So her comment is giving us the most up to date statistics (from the fourth quarter of 2008: October, November and December)on our door to balloon time. This kind of information should give you much reassurance that we have streamlined our process for patient's who are having heart attacks. This means we get you in, diagnose the problem, and fix the problem with angioplasty or stenting as quickly as possible. 39 minutes is fabulous! Remember the national average is 149 minutes!
By only reporting the median,
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2009-02-15 15:37.By only reporting the median, you are throwing out a good number of patients whose door-to-balloon times could greatly exceed the standard of 90 minutes. What was the mean door-to-balloon time?
Thanks for pointing out the
Submitted by Kelly Galler on Mon, 2009-02-16 09:07.Thanks for pointing out the concern about reporting the median time. This response is again from Char Busch, RN in the Bellin quality department who calculates these numbers monthly.
Char Busch stated: "The median time is used for public reporting, which is why I gave that value. A good point is raised...data presented can be misleading if the mean (average) time and percent of patients with door-to-balloon time over 90 minutes is not also looked at. I'm happy to indicate that our mean door-to-balloon time was 40 minutes and all patients had a door-to balloon time well under 90 minutes."
Bellin does evaluate each door-to-balloon time, looking for ways to improve the process and give feedback to the EMS who helped to achieve the time. It is important to know, that the value used by all institutions for door-to-balloon time, when publically reported, is the median value. Thanks for your comments.
Heart Wise Diabetes Control
Submitted by brain.tom72 (not verified) on Mon, 2009-08-31 22:16.Heart Wise Diabetes Control One of the best favors you can do for your heart is to keep your blood glucose level as near to normal as possible.
Over time, high levels of blood glucose can damage blood vessels. Always follow your meal plan and medication schedule for optimal blood glucose control and to maintain a healthy heart.
well right now i am doing mcse and start my career i suggest you to do the same may be your good career lies in it.
Great job here. I really
Submitted by hilda_dada (not verified) on Mon, 2010-10-11 05:58.Great job here. I really enjoyed what you had to say. Keep going because you definitely bring a new voice to this subject. Not many people would say what you’ve said and still make it interesting. Well, at least I’m interested. l-arginine