Heart Care

Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network provides comprehensive, quality heart care to patients at our two Regional Heart Centers in Allentown and Bethlehem. Many factors affect the quality of a heart program. But the ultimate standard to which we hold ourselves accountable is the heart health of our patient following treatment. In 2003, we cared for 8,000 heart patients, the most of any hospital in our region. As the population of our region continues to grow larger and older, we are continuing to expand our services to meet the needs of the community and ensure they receive the advanced standard of care that is the foundation of our program.

Experience Leads to Better Outcomes

Multiple studies have confirmed that the experience of both the doctor and the hospital improves quality for heart patients. Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network's cardiac program is the third largest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Performing 1,000 open heart and nearly 10,000 non-surgical (cardiac catheterization) procedures annually, our program’s volumes exceed those of all Philadelphia teaching hospitals.

This high volume leads directly to better outcomes, bringing state and national recognition to our program. In its report released in March, 2004, the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council recognized Lehigh Valley Hospital’s coronary artery bypass surgery program as the only one in the state with lower-than-expected mortality rates both in-hospital and during the 30 days after discharge. We were able to achieve these results with a shorter-than-average hospital stay.

For the third year in a row, U.S. News & World Report named LVHHN one of America’s Best Hospitals for heart care and heart surgery, based on experience, reputation, outcomes, technology and nursing. We were also named one of the nation’s top 100 hospitals by Solucient, a national organization that rates health care providers.

Patient Satisfaction

In addition to having excellent clinical outcomes, patients who are treated in our Regional Heart Center rate their experience as customers among the highest in the nation. We place in 90th percentile in patient satisfaction in the categories of “overall care,” “nursing,” and the patients’ “likelihood of recommending the hospital,” as measured by the Press Ganey organization.

However, we don’t take these ratings for granted; we routinely examine our patients’ responses and look for ways to make their experience more valuable. This commitment to our patients permeates everything we do to ensure they have a top-notch experience with us.

Strengthening Our Medical and Surgical Staff

Our medical staff includes more than 44 active cardiologists and five heart and lung surgeons, all of whom are board certified in their specialty. Through an arrangement with Lehigh Valley Heart and Lung Surgeons, our five cardio-thoracic surgeons operate exclusively at our two sites in Allentown and Bethlehem. This relationship benefits our patients with consistent quality of care across the network.

Training the Future’s Heart Specialists

The first cardiology fellow to be trained at LVH arrived in July 2003, as part of a new program we’re conducting with the Penn State College of Medicine. Each fellow will spend one year working with our teaching cardiologists to strengthen his/her clinical skills in preparation for becoming the future’s healer of hearts.

Expanded Facilities to Treat More Patients

The Regional Heart Center at our Cedar Crest & I-78 site was completely modernized in 2003. It features state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment equipment in four cardiac catheterization and two electrophysiology laboratories, as well as all-new patient care units.

The Regional Heart Center at our Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg site is being expanded and will open in the spring of 2005. We are continuing to care for patients in the current Bethlehem facility throughout the construction. When it is completed, the new facility will have two digital cardiac cath labs, an electrophysiology room, and recovery and stepdown units for medical, interventional and surgical patients.

Advancing Quality Cardiac Care in Our Region

Our commitment to treating our patients with the latest protocols and technology is unrivaled in our region. We were the first in the region to provide emergency angioplasty to patients suffering a heart attack at any time of the day or night. Our MI Alert programs are available in the emergency rooms of our Allentown and Bethlehem hospitals.

Through the exceptional teamwork of the physicians and staff in our emergency rooms and cath labs, we consistently achieve door-to-open-vessel times shorter than the 90-minute window, the gold standard recommended by the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. This muscle-saving protocol is so effective, we are collaborating with hospitals outside our region to introduce this critical service to their communities.

We are also advancing clinical care in other significant ways. Lehigh Valley Hospital:

• Introduced the first drug-eluting stents to the region in April 2003
• Launched a program using the transmyocardial revascularization laser for reperfusing heart patients with severe blockages of the coronary arteries
• Has been designated a national show site for the latest General Electric equipment for assessing and treating cardiovascular disease
• Was the first hospital in the region to implement Get With The Guidelines, the American Heart Association’s hospital-based discharge program designed to achieve significant reductions in death or recurrent cardiac, stroke or related event
• Will implement the Women’s Heart Advantage program aimed at raising the awareness and reducing mortality rates from the number one killer of women in America.

The Region's First Digital Heart Hospital

All patient records at The Regional Heart Center, including all cardiovascular studies, are digitally stored. Our commitment to digital technology will shorten the time from diagnosis to treatment and make it easy to review and compare both current and historic data. For example, the surgeon can review the patient's cardiac catheterization, including video, at any time or place.

When we complete our digital system by the end of 2004, referring physicians will be able to access patient information on our system as well. During telephone consultations with cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons, each physician will be able to see the same images at the same time.

When a patient is hospitalized, a wide range of digital services ensure safety, security and timeliness. All medical data is entered into computers at the bedside, eliminating confusion and delays. Each patient has a bar-coded bracelet to ensure the right patient receives the right medication at the right time.

Our tele-intensivist program, the first in our region, is perhaps the most significant evidence of the power of a digital hospital to save lives. This program should be fully operational in our ICUs by mid-2005. A tele-intensivist provides an extra pair of watchful eyes, monitoring intensive care patients 24 hours a day. This continuous monitoring is expected to identify both major and minor complications early, so they can be treated earlier, reducing their severity and in some cases, saving lives.

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