University of Kentucky HealthCare and Norton Heart and Vascular Institute are officially collaborating to provide care to Kentuckians with advanced heart disease. The announcement came Wednesday.
Doctors from both healthcare entities provide ventricular assist device placement and heart transplant services. Dr. Navin Rajagopalan is associate director of the UK Gill Affiliate Network. “As we all know it is often very anxiety provoking for patients when they have to be referred to another team of doctors that they haven’t met before. But, with us working together we can ease this burden on the patients and their families and really provide the best outcomes for patients with heart failure,” said Rajagopalan.
Norton Advanced Heart Failure and Recovery Program Medical Director Dr. Kelly McCants said this agreement affirms three years of informal collaboration. McCants added patients benefit when two programs join together. “Any time you can eliminate geography, you know these institutions are 60 to 70 miles apart. Anytime you can eliminate politics and focus on the patient, we’re winning,” explained McCants.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Kentucky and the Commonwealth has one of the highest rates of heart disease in the country.
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