INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Heart Physicians, a leading internationally recognized cardiology practice, will integrate its services with St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers, effective Aug. 3, 2009.Thirty years of industry-leading cardiac care to the residents of south central Indiana has taken a major step forward with the integration of Indiana Heart Physicians and St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers. This integration harnesses the expertise of both organizations and their ability to offer a wider range of cardiac and vascular services to patients in central Indiana.
“The health-care industry has clearly established the need to better manage our scarce resources and to do so with a continued focus on our customers overall health. This can only be achieved by collaborating across the entire care continuum and avoiding all unnecessary costs not associated with patient care,” said Keith Jewell, St. Francis senior vice president and chief operating officer.
“Fully integrating our organizations enables St. Francis and Indiana Heart Physicians to continue the high quality service customers have come to expect while also investing resources in applying the science and research that is transforming the delivery of cardiac care,” added Robert J. Brody, St. Francis president and chief executive officer.
IHP currently has 23 board-certified physicians specialized in the areas of electrophysiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and interventional cardiology. They are supported by nearly 150 physician assistants, nurses, medical technology staff and support personnel.
“Indiana Heart Physicians has proudly served the south-central Indiana community for over 30 years and being fully integrated with St. Francis will only strengthen our ability to continue to provide the best possible cardiovascular care to the patients we serve,” said Jeff Christie, Indiana Heart Physicians’ managing partner.
IHP was established in 1978 under the direction of H.O. “Buzz” Hickman, M.D. In addition to its long-established relationship with St. Francis, IHP also has affiliations with Morgan Hospital and Medical Center in Martinsville and Major Hospital in Shelbyville.
Last year, nearly 70,000 patients were seen at IHP, including office visits, testing and procedures.
IHP physicians conduct most of their work at the St. Francis Heart Center, located on the Indianapolis hospital’s south campus at Emerson Avenue and Stop 11. The center is the home to the city’s first certified Chest Pain Evaluation Center, Midwest Heart Valve Center, vascular laboratory, and a national training site for catheterization lab procedures, carotid stent placement and endovascular repair.
IHP physicians also developed the landmark Emergency Heart Attack Response Team at the Heart Center, which significantly reduces response times for heart attack patients, improves their outcomes and reduces health care costs. The EHART protocol has received much acclaim in the medical world and has been adopted by hospitals throughout the world.
The hospital/physician integration is seemingly timely and reflects a part of the health care reform proposals being discussed nationally, St. Francis and IHP officials say.
To learn more about the Indiana Heart Physicians, go to www.ihpmd.org. More information about St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers is at www.stfrancishospitals.org.
