Open Heart Surgery Delivers on the Promise of Southcoast

There is no greater health risk in the South Coast region than heart disease. And area residents will soon be able to get the full complement of cardiac services close to home.

Southcoast Hospitals Group is gearing up to begin a cardiac surgery program in early 2002 that will bring life-saving and life-prolonging heart procedures to the area of the state where the incidence of disease is highest and access has been poorest.

“Residents in the South Coast region are in dire need of cardiac surgery services,” said Ronald B. Goodspeed, MD, MPH, FACP, FACPE, President of Southcoast Hospitals Group. “Heart disease is the most critical health issue in our region — and now we will finally be able to make these life-saving procedures available close to home. This will greatly improve patient access to essential cardiac care.”

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health in April granted permission to Southcoast to begin a cardiac surgery program that will be based at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River and operated in partnership with New England Medical Center in Boston.

“Program quality and patient safety is our primary objective,” Dr. Goodspeed said. “We will be working jointly with one of the nation’s premier teaching hospitals, New England Medical Center, to assure that our heart program is unsurpassed in quality and will be seen by all as a trusted community asset.

“We also have the good fortune to be able to take advantage of more than 30 years of experience that precedes this program. By learning from the best training techniques and implementing the best technology and information systems from around the country, we are in the unique and enviable position to build a first-class program from the ground up — a program all of us in the region will be proud of.”

Southcoast was not alone in the fight to bring open heart surgery to the region. Dr. Goodspeed thanked Senator Mark Montigny for his leadership role in allowing DPH to bring heart surgery to community hospitals and the other elected officials who rallied behind this landmark effort, especially Senator Joan Menard for her support as well as that of Fall River Mayor Edward Lambert and New Bedford Mayor Fred Kalisz.

Heart disease is one of the most pervasive and costly health care problems in the United States and is particularly problematic in the Fall River and New Bedford areas, where in 1998 mortality from heart disease was 18 percent higher than the Massachusetts average. The Southcoast primary service area has a population of some 600,000 residents and a growing elderly population, which has led to an increase in the number of patients suffering from coronary artery disease.

The total number of residents in the Southcoast Hospitals Group service area with coronary artery disease is 24 percent higher than the Massachusetts total. At the same time, the incidence of cardiovascular disease among the South Coast population is steadily increasing. Residents requiring surgical treatment or angioplasty must currently travel to Boston or Providence or farther. And oftentimes they must travel more than once.

While awaiting DPH’s decision, Southcoast had been busy moving forward in preparation for its new cardiac surgery program. Efforts are already underway to recruit experienced, world-class heart surgeons, procure necessary state-of-the-art equipment and begin selecting and training the surgical and recovery teams that will staff the program.

“Our program may be new, but the people who make up our cardiac surgery teams will bring decades of experience to Southcoast,” Dr. Goodspeed said. “Our first cardiac surgeons will have many years of experience in major medical centers and our entire team — from surgeons to anesthesiologists to perfusionists to nurses — will all undergo extensive training at New England Medical Center.”

As part of the application process, South- coast spelled out an exhaustive months-long training process that includes placing the Southcoast team at New England Medical Center for hands-on experience. The South- coast team will begin by performing surgery at NEMC under the guidance of NEMC’s world-class cardiothoracic surgical teams.

“I know that we will have the very best training program possible for our entire cardiac surgery team,” Dr. Goodspeed said. “The combination of medical and surgical experience, comprehensive training and the most advanced technology and techniques will make our program comparable to any in the state.

“We are committed to making our communities healthier — not just caring for our neighbors when they are sick.”

Keep informed about progress of the open heart surgery program at Southcoast by logging onto our website.

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