Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau announced a new partnership Thursday to improve cardiothoracic care.
Southeast Health will collaborate with the Cardiothoracic Surgery Division at Washington University's School of Medicine in St. Louis.
Southeast Medical Group's Director of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Dr. Paul D. Robison, was the driving force behind the agreement. He says community hospitals like his can't always provide the degree of patient care some may need, that's why this collaboration is great news for patients in southeast Missouri.
"My goal is for our patients, when they need care at St. Louis, they'll go to St. Louis. But, most of their care will be right here and the physicians will come to the patient here. So, it makes Southeast Health able to offer care that's not offered anywhere else in any way similar. This is world class care in the patient's hometown."
Robison says some patients aren't treated with traditional methods. He says this agreement will open up new technologies for patients in the region.
"For example, the one Vice President Dick Cheney had, a ventricular assist device that allowed his heart to be stabilized until he could actually have a heart transplant, our patients did not have immediate access to that."
Dr. Ralph Damiano is Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He says this collaboration involves more than the surgeons at both locations.
"We're also hoping to share mutually, our expertise, in the development of clinical pathways, care pathways, ways to really assure very high quality care for our patients, and in that way, I think we're really hoping to learn from each other."
Damiano will lead the clinical collaboration efforts focused on providing southeast Missouri patients with leading-edge medical treatments, research and access to clinical trials.
