Martin Health System President and CEO Rob Lord describes his vision for the future of healthcare. LISA BROADT/TCPALM Wochit
STUART — Cleveland Clinic, the nation's top cardiac hospital, is partnering with Martin Health System to provide patients with life-saving treatment and improve recovery time from heart surgery, the two hospitals announced Friday.
Almost immediately, Cleveland Clinic, which has a hospital in Weston in Broward County, will begin sharing its best practices for cardiac care with Martin Health.
By August, Cleveland Clinic cardiac vascular surgeons could be seeing patients and operating in Martin Medical Center in Stuart, said Dr. Wael Barsoum, president of Cleveland Clinic Florida.
“This is great for us because on a foundational level, Martin Health has a great culture. They really think about and put patients first,” Barsoum said.
The partnership is Cleveland Clinic's first cardiovascular affiliation with a Florida hospital.
In addition to the cardiac-care partnership, the two hospitals said they would "explore other opportunities to work together more closely." On Friday, however, officials of both hospitals declined to discuss specifics.
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Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary-artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States.
The partnership would involve only the cardiac programs at Cleveland Clinic's Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute and the Frances Langford Heart Center at Martin Health.
Through the partnership, Cleveland Clinic would provide management services, including clinical direction, quality assurance and access to the latest technologies and techniques in cardiovascular surgery.
Cleveland Clinic is paid a fee for consulting, training and research. Specific financial terms, however, are confidential, officials said.
Martin Health treated about 7,250 people for heart ailments between October 2016 and September 2017, according to hospital records.
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For heart patients and their families, the partnership means they can stay home to have complex surgery such as high-risk heart valves and minimally invasive heart and valve surgery, said Rob Lord, Martin Health Systems CEO.
“That is our objective: To take care of more patients here locally and have fewer patients need to leave the community,” Lord said.
When patients who are facing heart surgery have to travel away from their homes, it sometimes causes stress that takes a toll on recovery.
“As you can imagine, when you are close to home and when your family is nearby, people tend to recover more quickly,” Barsoum said. “We know that patients who are mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for surgery, they do better.”
The Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic’s Heart & Vascular Institute is one of the world’s largest, most experienced cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery groups.
U.S. News & World Report for 23 consecutive years has named Cleveland Clinic the best hospital in the country for cardiology and heart surgery.
Since 1995, no other hospital in the country has ranked higher than Cleveland Clinic in cardiac care. U.S. News & World Report twice has ranked Martin Health System in its top 50 cardiac-vascular programs in the U.S.
Martin Health System, a regional not-for-profit provider with three acute-care hospitals and a comprehensive network of outpatient services, has provided care to Treasure Coast residents for nearly 80 years.
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The Frances Langford Heart Center at Martin Health has been providing nationally recognized cardiovascular care since it opened in 2006. The heart center expanded its capabilities in 2016 with an interventional suite at Tradition Medical Center, providing additional heart and vascular services for residents of west Port St. Lucie.