Media Contacts:
Froedtert Hospital, Kathy Sieja, 414-805-2618
Kathy.Sieja@froedtert.com
Cleveland Clinic, Tora Vinci, 216-339-4277, VINCIV@ccf.org
Affiliation aims to advance cardiovascular care in Upper Midwest
Milwaukee, Wis. (April 12, 2016) – Marking a first for the state, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin Froedtert Hospital and Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic will join forces in an affiliation that leverages the academic, clinical and research components of both organizations. This affiliation enables both organizations to share best practices related to patient care and hospital processes.
“We are pleased and proud to be selected as an affiliate member of the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute,” said Cathy Buck, president of Froedtert Hospital. “By aligning our academic medical center with a world-renowned peer organization, we can bring the very best in cardiovascular care to our patients.”
As affiliates, the two organizations will remain independent but share best practices in patient care, outcomes measurement, quality reporting and clinical research. In addition, physician teams from both entities will collaborate to accelerate advances in heart care treatments and protocols.
“We have a strong cardiovascular program, and this relationship will help us take it to the next level,” said Michael Cinquegrani, M.D., director, Froedtert & MCW heart and vascular services. “The best get better by collaborating and learning from each other. Joining our Medical College Physicians group with a proven national performer will accelerate our progress toward having a world-class heart program here in Milwaukee to benefit people throughout the region.”
Froedtert Hospital is the only hospital in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest to join the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute as an affiliate member. Cleveland Clinic’s heart program has been ranked No.1 by U.S. News & World Report for 21 years.
“As new techniques and technologies come to the forefront it’s important to deliver these new innovations quickly to patients to treat cardiovascular disease,” said Joseph Cacchione, M.D., cardiologist and chairman of Operations and Strategy at Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute. “Patients in Wisconsin will benefit from the power of collaboration between our hospitals.”
The affiliation agreement reflects Cleveland Clinic’s comprehensive assessment of currently available cardiovascular services in southeastern Wisconsin. The study, which began more than a year ago, included a review of Froedtert & MCW’s heart program, covering personnel, policies, procedures, outcomes and facilities.
Benefits of the affiliation to Froedtert & MCW health network patients and doctors include access to new treatments and technologies, opportunities to collaborate with Cleveland Clinic in medical research, sharing of care pathways, quality processes, outcomes data analysis and medical education opportunities.
“Collaboration and partnership are founding principles of our health system, and this relationship with Cleveland Clinic further demonstrates the value of that philosophy,” said Buck. “The way forward in health care is through alliances that enable sharing of resources, knowledge and skills.”
The affiliation follows the October 2015 opening of the Froedtert & MCW Center for Advanced Care, the new home of the Froedtert & MCW heart and vascular program. The program, which experienced a 170 percent increase in outpatient volume over the past 10 years, occupies the entire fourth floor of the new building and provides outpatient care for cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac surgery, interventional radiology and vascular surgery and diagnostic services.
About Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin
Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network is a partnership between Froedtert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin. It comprises eastern Wisconsin’s only academic medical center, Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee; and Community Memorial Hospital, Menomonee Falls, and St. Joseph’s Hospital, West Bend. The health network also includes more than 2,000 physicians across 25 primary and specialty clinical locations representing the collaboration of Wisconsin’s largest multispecialty physician practice with a community-based physician group. The network’s three hospitals have 781 staffed beds, nearly 40,000 annual admissions and more than 900,000 annual outpatient visits. Froedtert & MCW network physicians have more than 700,000 annual patient visits at its health centers and clinics. For more information, visit froedtert.com.
About Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S.News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation’s best hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” survey. More than 3,000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. The Cleveland Clinic health system includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals, more than 90 northern Ohio outpatient locations, including 18 full-service family health centers, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2014, there were 5.9 million outpatient visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 152,500 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and 147 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.
