Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River to offer cardiac catheterization services

/ COURTESY ST. ANNE'S HOSPITAL

PROVIDENCE – Saint Anne’s Hospital, in Fall River, Mass., recently received approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to begin offering diagnostic cardiac catheterization procedures for certain heart conditions.

The announcement follows a successful on-site review by the DPH on Jan. 6. The hospital expects to begin performing catheterizations for appropriate patients later this month.

Diagnostic cardiac catheterization is a test that uses a tube called a catheter and an X-ray machine to assess the heart and its blood supply. Its purpose is to find the cause of symptoms that could mean heart problems, such as narrowed or clogged arteries of the heart, how well the heart valves and chambers function, heart defects or an enlarged heart and to determine appropriate treatment.

Saint Anne’s Hospital President Craig A. Jesiolowski said that the added service will provide continuity of care to the hospital’s patients who require catheterization to diagnose certain heart problems and offer a choice for this service to area residents. According to Jesiolowski, the need for cardiac catheterization services in the Greater Fall River-New Bedford area is more than 74 percent above the state average; as such, the hospital expects substantial volume.

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Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford – both part of Southcoast Health – also provide cardiac catheterization services.

“We are pleased to provide diagnostic cardiac catheterization services to our patients,” said Jesiolowski, in a prepared release. All such procedures performed at St. Anne’s will be elective and scheduled, and patients’ physicians determine the need for cardiac catheterization. Offering cardiac catheterization services at St. Anne’s reduces the likelihood of fragmented patient care, he added.

Southcoast sues; Steward countersues – the litigation continues

Nevertheless, Southcoast’s efforts to prevent Saint Anne’s Hospital, part of Steward Health Care System, from opening its diagnostic cardiac catheterization lab are ongoing. In October 2015, Southcoast sued Steward and the DPH in Suffolk Superior Court. Alleging that the new lab would unnecessarily duplicate services readily available in the community and would harm Southcoast, the suit sought to bar the opening of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at St. Anne’s Hospital. In late December 2015, a state judge, siding with Steward, denied a preliminary injunction to halt the lab’s opening.

“Today’s court decision was the first step in what unfortunately could be a lengthy process,” said Peter Cohenno, Southcoast’s spokesperson, in a prepared statement. “As we determine our next steps, our primary objective remains doing what is in the best interest of our patients and our community’s not-for-profit health care system.”

Shortly before the Christmas holidays, Steward filed a countersuit – seeking damages and ordering Southcoast to withdraw its state lawsuit – in federal court. Southcoast is currently reviewing Steward’s countersuit and must respond by Jan. 25, said Cohenno.

Of Southcoast’s lawsuit, Jesiolowski said in an email, “We believe that Southcoast’s lawsuit, which we have characterized as a sham lawsuit, has no merit… We are confident that Southcoast has no standing in this matter, especially as they explore discussions with Care New England as a strategic partner that would create opportunities to expand [Southcoast’s] cardiac market into the Rhode Island market.”

Steward and Southcoast both earn awards

St. Anne’s has been consistently recognized by national organizations for quality and safety, including treatment of patients with heart problems, said Jesiolowski.

“Saint Anne’s recently received its second consecutive five-star rating from Healthgrades for treatment of patients with heart attack and heart failure,” he said. “This means that our clinical outcomes are statistically significantly better than expected when treating these conditions.”

Jesiolowski added that Saint Anne’s also is one of 133 hospitals nationwide, one of 17 in Massachusetts, and the only hospital in the Fall River-New Bedford area to receive the “Straight A’s” Hospital Safety Score designation by The Leapfrog Group. “Just five percent of all graded hospitals nationwide have earned this distinction,” he said.

Southcoast’s hospitals, St. Luke’s, Charlton Memorial and Tobey, which all operate under one license, also have earned a number of national awards, based on their treatment of heart attack patients. The accolades include being named among the nation’s top hospitals with the lowest heart attack mortality rate according to Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services data, by Becker’s Hospital Review, and, collectively, eighth in the nation and first in New England for heart attack care by BetterDoctor.com. Southcoast has twice earned five-star ratings from Healthgrades for treatment of heart attack and heart failure, and earned “Top Performer on Key Quality Measures” recognition from The Joint Commission for performance in caring for patients with heart attacks and heart failure.

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