Heart Blog | Bellin Health

Nice donation to the AHA

Kelly Galler — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:50:35 +0000

On May 2nd, the Green Bay Community Go Red for Women Luncheon was held at Oneida Country Club and Golf. At that event, I was able to donate a check worth almost $1,000 to the American Heart Association. Trout Springs Winery was responsible for $400 of that donation and the rest of the funds came from Bellin Health employess who purchased a red hair extension in February.

Thanks so much Trout Springs Winery for donating your Friday nights in February to do wine tastings and for the great donation.

Thanks so much everyone who purchased a red hair extension in February to support Go Red for Women!

We look forward to having both of these fundraisers next year, to again raise funds for research, prevention and education of heart disease.

PROMPTING THE PUBLIC TO RISK STRATIFY THEMSELVES FOR HEART DISEASE

Kelly Galler — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:13:51 +0000

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Bellin’s vision: People in our region will be the healthiest in the nation. Heart disease is the number one killer but early treatment improves outcomes and decreases cost. Heart calcium scoring with Computed Tomography (CT) finds patients with sub-clinical atherosclerosis before any symptoms occur, since coronary calcification is virtually 100% specific for atherosclerosis and non-obstructive calcified plaque is predictive of coronary events. Risk factor modification begins earlier when disease is identified.

Implementation: A program for self-referral, low cost ($50) heart calcium screenings was designed. With standing orders, screening tools to identify at risk people and a 320 slice CT scanner, qualified individuals receive minimal radiation. Within 24-48 hours, a Radiologist reads the lungs fields and aorta, then Cardiology performs the calcium scoring interpretation. A nurse practitioner explains results via phone to answer questions, offer risk factor counseling and make referrals. Patients and primary care providers (PCPs) receive written results in the mail.

Evaluation and outcomes: Community demand continues to be high requiring adding "blitz Saturdays" to keep up with the requests for screening. Key to success are phone call results, with PCP or Specialist follow-up. About 23% heart calcium screenings require follow-up exams for abnormal results such as a high calcium score (>400), lung nodules and ascending aortic aneurysms.

Implication for practice: A significant amountof early heart and lung disease is found with heart calcium screenings. Offering this service at a low price allows at risk individuals the opportunity to take charge of their health, prevent progression of disease and avoid hospitalizations. Calcium scoring is a powerful motivational tool that can improve patient compliance with risk factor modification. Expanding programs like this can impact health care dollars, improve the quality of life and decrease the volume of heart attacks, lung cancers, and aortic aneurysms resulting in death.

A walk through the heart you'll never forget

Kelly Galler — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:52:16 +0000

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Talking about the AmeriHeart, "Bellin's Heart" at the Preventative Cardiovascular Nurses Association in Washington DC this week.

Purpose: A heart care leader provides low cost, high quality care, and makes a positive impression on consumers. This 21x17 foot, interactive, anatomically correct, walk through heart, achieves just that. Visibility. This long lasting mental image of your heart coupled with an educational tour, makes Bellin Heart and Vascular Center “Top of Mind” in our community. We show how much we care when we show-case our enormous heart. No one else in the Nation is able to teach the community the way we can.

Implementation: The AmeriHeart was rented as a trial to evaluate the community’s response to this innovative heart exhibit. RN staff gave tours and answered questions to over 700 children and adults. Tours included normal heart anatomy and visual examples of heart attack, bypass graft, endocarditis, septal wall defect, and mitral valve prolapse. The first 100 adults completed an evaluation upon exiting the heart.

Evaluation and outcomes: Questions were directed at learning if the community liked the exhibit, if they learned something from it and if they thought it would be valuable to have this exhibit at other events. There was an overwhelmingly positive response.

Implication for practice: The AmeriHeart is an interesting, exciting and attractive way to make an imprint about heart health on the community. We now own the AmeriHeart and take it to schools, health fairs, the local Heart Walk and other healthy events. In 6 months, over 4,100 people have experienced this exhibit and raved about their experience and interactions with cardiac staff. People are so amazed to understand better about their heart because of this visual tool. The AmeriHeart provides a new way to gain trust and respect with our consumers, so when they need heart care, Bellin Health is the organization they think of first.

Bellin Tops for Heart Attack Survival

Kelly Galler — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 18:16:57 +0000

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We want to share our story with you!

A current marketing campaign is aimed at informing the public that Bellin Health is one of the best hospitals in the nation to receive care if you’re having a heart attack, as evidenced by a recent study.

Last August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released cardiac care data that covered a three-year period from mid-2007 to mid-2010. Bellin was the top in the state of Wisconsin for acute myocardial infarction survival rates and ranked third in the nation, trailing only Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut and NYU Hospital Center in New York.

According to the CMS study, Bellin rated 10.6 deaths per 100 for heart attack patients. By comparison, Bay Area Medical Center in Marinette rated 13.9 deaths per 100 and other Green Bay Hospitals rated 15.8 or 15.9 deaths per 100. The national average was 15.9 deaths per 100.

“The CMS data strongly backs our long-standing position of being the No. 1 choice for heart care in the region. We are seizing the opportunity and letting the public know about it,” said Tom Arndt, chief marketing officer at Bellin Health. “Bellin is a nationally recognized cardiovascular hospital. Our patients, their families and friends deserve to know this, especially if faced with an unexpected decision regarding selection of a heart care hospital that could mean the difference between the life or death of a loved one.”

A series of billboards, systemwide posters and a new radio ad campaign will soon launch in support of Bellin’s efforts to inform the public of the health system’s position as the best heart care hospital in the state and one of the top three nationwide for cardiac care.

In addition to the data in the CMS study, Bellin excels in a number of areas that enable it to maintain its level of excellence in heart care. The health system:

Opened a state-of-the-art integrated cardiovascular suite that combines some of the features of a catheter lab with those of a surgical theater
Added a team of cardiologists formerly with Cardiology Associates of Green Bay. The group is now named Cardiology Associates of Bellin Health.
Consistently averages door-to-balloon times (the window of opportunity it takes to unblock an artery) of 51 minutes while the national average hovers at 90 minutes
Offers free or low-cost heart and vascular screenings as part of its continued heart health promotion and disease prevention efforts
Works with patients to encourage them to adopt healthier lifestyles consisting of improved nutrition, exercise and maintaining their medication regimen after release from the hospital
Maintains a strong relationship with area ambulance crews to make sure the process of providing emergency care uses the best possible protocols
Is upgrading its electronic medical records system to enhance the information flow between providers and health care partners involved in a particular patient’s care

“Our outstanding team of cardiologists, physicians, ED staff, Eagle III staff, cardiac cath lab staff and all other Bellin employees who assist in caring for these individuals, continues to provide the top-quality heart care expertise recognized by national agencies like the CMS,” said Kelly Galler, Heart & Vascular clinical coordinator at Bellin. “The team’s efforts have contributed significantly to our position as a top-quality facility for heart care. While we are proud of our designation as one of the top three health systems in the nation for heart attack survival rates, we continue to seek ways to improve our care outcomes and the overall patient experience.”

Rachel Manek's heart scan

Kelly Galler — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 15:03:48 +0000

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On Good Day Wisconsin, Fox 11, this morning, Rachel Manek spoke with Dr. Donnoven Blake from Cardiology Associates of Bellin Health. Rachel qualified for a heart calcium scan, to evaluate if she had the start of heart disease. Watch this clip!

Rachel's Heart Scan: fox11online.com

Rachel's heart calcium score was zero, just what it should be. There should not be any calcium in your heart.

We did want to show you some abnormal scans though so look closely at the scans at the end of the video. The first scan shows bright white areas in the arteries of the heart, demonstrating calcium build up. This scan was done with CT angiogram, so this was a little more than a normal calcium score, but it clearly shows the abnormal spots. The next scan shows arrows pointing to the calcium found in this person's coronary arteries and in the aorta (the largest blood vessel in your body that comes off the heart). Other abnormalities that are commonly found with this scan include an enlarged aorta (aneurysm of the aorta, which can be a life threatening condition) and also lung nodules. The last two scans show those abnormalities.

Worried about your risk for heart disease?

http://www.bellinheart.org/calcium/ Go to this link to read more about the heart calcium score test and see if you qualify to have one done.

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

Kelly Galler — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:16:56 +0000

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Join us and support awareness of heart and vascular disease

Directions to Trout Springs Winery

8150 River Road

Greenleaf, Wi

920-864-7761

From the West & North: From Hwy 172 east to Cty GV. At Cty GV, go south 1-2 miles. Take a left/east at Cty G, and go through Lark and past WayMor Park. After passing the park take a left on Wayside Rd., and 1-2 miles down, take a right on River Rd. We are the 2nd place on the right hand side.

February is Heart Month: Wear RED Friday Feb 3, 2012

Kelly Galler — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:42:50 +0000

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February is Heart month: to increase awareness and prevention of this Number 1 killer of Americans. Women are a special category in Heart Disease, and we celebrate to increase awareness that women get heart disease too! Feb 3rd, is National Go Red Day.

Look at these most recent statistics, reported in Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2012 Update
A Report From the American Heart Association

The 2008 overall rate of death attributable to cardiovascular disease (CVD) was 244.8 per 100 000.
From 1998 to 2008, the rate of death attributable to CVD declined 30.6%. Still 1 in every 3 deaths in the US.
2200 Americans die of CVD each day, an average of 1 death every 39 seconds
Each year, about 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke. Every 40 seconds someone in the US has a stroke

We all should be doing what we can to prevent this disease from taking our family and friends. What can we do?

Control your risk factors and let's get healthy!
Stop smoking
Control diabetes: take your medications and regularly see your provider
Help those who are overweight, to lose weight (children and adults)
Control high blood pressure: take your medications, cut salt out of your diet
Control cholesterol: have it checked, eat healthy, take your medications
Get some activity: move more daily, take a walk, start an exercise program
Relieve some stress: laughter, yoga, reading, what ever works for you
Eat better: fruits and vegetables, whole grains, back to the basics and away from processed foods

Live better with the American Heart Associations:
my life check
www.mylifecheck.heart.org

and show your awareness of Heart Disease and how deadly it is by wearing RED on Feb 3, 2012.

How healthy is Wisconsin?

Kelly Galler — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 19:51:24 +0000

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The UnitedHealth Foundation, the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the Partnership for Prevention have put out the 20th annual report of "America's Health Rankings." Vermont is the healthiest state overall and Mississippi in the unhealthiest. Guess where WI is.......

Overall state ranking for WI, not too bad, we are number 13 out of the 50 United States. The measures can then be broken down individually to see how each state ranks.

For example:
Binge Drinking, WI ranks number 50 (Terrible!)
Cardiovascular Deaths, WI ranks number 21
Diabetes, WI ranks number 8 (we are doing pretty good here!)
High School Graduation WI is actually number 1!
Obesity, constantly on the rise, WI is number 21
Heart disease, WI is number 15
Heart attack, WI is number 10
Stroke, WI is number 5

Each category has a definition that you can read to understand what was measured. You can even compare state to state. Click this link to see more data:
http://statehealthstats.americashealthrankings.org/#/country/US/2011/Stroke

Bellin in Top US Cardiac Hospitals

Kelly Galler — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:28:49 +0000

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It was announced today, November 14, 2011, the TOP 50 US Hospitals for Heart Care. Is your local hospital on the list? Bellin Health is!!

Thomson Reuters has compiled data from 2009 and 2010 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data, Medicare cost reports, and CMS Hospital Compare data, to determine which hospitals across the United States are providing superior clinical heart care to it's patients. This is the 13th year for this annual report.

Thomson Reuters press release included the following quote:
"This year's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals have continued to deliver excellent care and have been able to improve their performance in a tough economic climate," said Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals® program at Thomson Reuters. "The hospitals in this study have provided measurably better care and are more efficient than their peers, demonstrating incredibly strong focus by hospital leadership at a time when the healthcare system is steeped in volatility."

A summary of qualities that were reviewed to give Bellin Health this status include:

Better risk-adjusted survival rates (23 percent fewer deaths than non-winning hospitals for bypass surgery patients)
Lower complications
Fewer readmissions to the hospital
Shorter hospital stays
lower costs
Increased use of internal mammary artery (IMA) for coronary artery bypass surgeries

Wisconsin Hospitals on the list:
Bellin Health, Green Bay, WI
Aspirus Wausau Hospital - Wausau, WI
Gundersen Lutheran - La Crosse, WI
Meriter Hospital - Madison, WI

Full article found at Thomson Reuters
http://thomsonreuters.com/news_ideas/press_releases/?itemId=514562

Valve Center

Kelly Galler — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:53:38 +0000

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The Valve Center at Bellin Health provides a multidisciplinary team of experienced experts to offer the most complete and fully integrated care in the region. It is designed to assess, diagnose, and treat patients with symptomatic and complex valvular heart disease.

If you are having symptoms of shortness of breath, passing out spells, chest pain or heart failure and also have valve disease, consider coming for an evaluation.
The Valve Center offers:

A multidisciplinary approach led by our expert cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons working together side by side to coordinate your care.
Dedicated nurse practitioner to coordinate testing and guide patients through the process.
Cutting edge technology to include a state of the art hybrid OR/Cath lab, complemented by nationally accredited imaging services that include Cardiac MRI, CT and echocardiography imaging.
Specialists in treating symptomatic valvular heart disease medically and with minimally invasive treatment options.
Expertise in non-invasive imaging using the most advanced CT technology in the region.
The regions most experienced and established cardiac team.
Weekly case conferences with out Valve Center Team to discuss and plan individualized treatment plans.

To make an appointment, please call Cardiology Associates of Bellin Health at (920) 433-3640