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Stone Oak Supports Community’s “Legs for Life” Program
Community service is not something a new business start-up would normally add to its already overwhelming first year’s business plan. NCP’s Stone Oak Center team knew however that their participation in the Legs for Life program would have long lasting benefits for individuals in their local community as well as NCP. Legs for Life is a national public education/community wellness program that provides free screenings for persons who might be at risk for Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD). PAD affects an estimated 8 to 10 million people in the U.S. placing them at greater risk for heart attack, stroke and loss of limbs. Early detection is the first step in identifying patients at risk, giving them and their care-providers information crucial to successful diagnosis and treatment. And that’s exactly what NCP’s Stone Oak team did last September, screening 174 patients for PAD.
Of those screened, 51 (30%) were found to have either peripheral vascular or cardiovascular issues. Charlotte Merritt, Stone Oak’s Clinical Director, said the screening procedure measures something called “Ankle Brachial Index” (ABI), a ratio that compares both arm and ankle blood pressures. Charlotte said “the procedure is both easy and painless, using a blood pressure cuff and a Doppler device to obtain both blood pressures . . . if the ankle pressure is less than the arm pressures you most likely have a narrow or blocked artery.” The screening process also includes a review with a NCP physician to gather data on the patient’s symptoms/risk factors for coronary artery disease. The ABI results and data are then given to the patient, mailed to the patient’s primary care physician, and kept on file at NCP. It is not uncommon for Legs for Life patients to select NCP for additional cardiovascular follow-up.
Legs for Life was founded by the Society of Interventional Radiology in 1997 in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, American Radiological Nurses Association, the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology, the American Heart Association.
El Paso Cardiac and Endovascular Center Opens
For many non-retail businesses late December can be a festive, relaxed time associated with the holiday scene. Not so however for NCP’s newest cardiac cath lab located in El Paso Texas. They opened their doors for business on December 18 and have been going non-stop ever since, handling 45 cases in less than 6 weeks.
NCP’s new lab is located about two miles west of the University of Texas (UTEP) campus, making it accessible to residents of both El Paso and southern New Mexico. As El Paso’s first cardiac outpatient facility it gives cardiologists and patients a welcome alternative to a crowded, hard to access hospital environment. The 5,000 square foot facility has 1 lab, a 7-bed admitting / outpatient area and enough space for a second lab when the time comes for expansion.
Our El Paso lab partners are El Paso Cardiology Associates, P.A. and its team of five physicians including Doctors Vipool Patel, David Dobrin, M. Laiq Raja, Michael T. Traylor, Michael Gutierrez, and Practice Administrator Larry Fisher. Two additional cardiology groups, Cardiology Care Consultants and El Paso Heart Clinic, also have privileges. NCP’s El Paso clinical team is led by Jesse Jaime - Clinical Director and Yolanda Lespron – Clinical Manager. The clinical staff includes three R.N.s, Alma Rosencrans, Bryan Baca and Teresa Roth and one R.T., Mike Alvarado. This clinical team has 80 years of clinical experience with 63 of those years in cardiac cath labs. Our Business Office Manager is Dora Leos, assisted by Zulema Gonzalez – Scheduling Specialist and Evangelina Ramirez – Certified Coding Specialist.
Spring Creek Cath Lab Passes Joint Commission Survey
On behalf of the entire staff at Spring Creek Cath Lab, we are happy to announce that we passed our Joint Commission Survey. Special thanks to Irma Cardenas, Rosy Villanueva, Tricia Chapa, Trey Domann, Patty Chesnick, Keri Krueger, Lisa Walker and all leadership for their tremendous support. Alicia and Yvonne and their staff worked very hard preparing for the survey and their contributions were integral to this accomplishment. We applaud Dr. Amine who did a great job representing Spring Creek Cath Lab in his interview with Dr. Flores. Great job Spring Creek!
South Texas Cardiovascular and Rhythm Center Joins NCP
NCP's newest facility South Texas Cardiovascular & Rhythm Center opened the doors to their first case on October 11, 2010 and is located adjacent to the Methodist Texsan Heart Hospital in Santonio, TX. This beautiful 4,418 square foot facility includes one cardiac cath lab and a six bed patient recovery area.
Our physician group - South Texas Cardiovascular Consultants and its team of ten physicians consists of three interventional cardiologists, two electrophysiologists and five cardiologists. Though challenges exist in any new start-up, the results would tend to indicate otherwise as the group performed 151 cases in the first 3 months. Great job South Texas!
The clinical team at South Texas has a combined 173 years of experience in the medical field and 102 years of experience in both the cath lab, and working with cardiology patients. NCP's South Texas clinical team is led by Marty Taglauer, RN - Clinical Director, Richelle Clements, RN - Clinical Manager and Todd Broemer, BBA - Business Office Manager.
South Texas hosted a Legs for Life campaign free to the community in May 2011 and we were joined by our physician group, South Texas Cardiovascular Consultants. The task included free ABI screening for peripheral vascular disease. The staff performed more than 160 Ankle Brachial Indices in San Antonio, Kerrville, Boerne and Fredricksburg.
Beaumont Heart and Vascular Center Joins NCP
Beaumont Heart and Vascular Center joined NCP April 1, 2011 and is located in the Christus St. Elizabeths Professional Office Building that is attached to the Christus St. Elizabeths Hospital. Our Beaumont Heart Cardiologists - Advanced Cardiovascular Specialists and its team of five physicians who have served Beaumont and the surrounding communities for over forty years include Drs T. Randolph Lombardo, Tim Colgan, Alfred Brady, Steve Sooudi, Jorge Hernandez and Practice Administrator, Angie Foster. Prior to partnership with NCP, their facility was only allowed to schedule diagnostic heart and peripheral procedures. Between April 2011 and August 2011, the facility performed three hundred thirty five procedures including coronary and peripheral interventions, defibrillator and pacemaker implants and radial procedures.
Beaumont Heart and Vascular is Joint Commission accredited, has one cath lab and seven patient recovery rooms. We are anxious to give Beaumont Heart a "new face lift" in 2012 to include de-installation of its existing thirteen year old Philips Cath Lab and the installation of new Philips FD20 equipment.
The Beaumont Heart and Vascular Center's clinical team is led by Gregg Evans, Clinical Director. The clinical staff includes one full time RN, Scotty Kiser, two part time RN's, Angie Bonnie and Kelli White, one full time RT and Inventory Coordinator, Jessica McCord and two part time technologists, Susan Underwood and Teresa Powell. This team has over 125 years of dedicated cath lab experience. The business office team is led by Tricia Chapa, Regional Business Office Manager, Tammara Campbell, Billing and Collections and Nedra Ledet, Front Desk/Scheduler.
South Texas Receives Joint Commission and COLA Accreditation
We are proud to announce that our South Texas team earned their Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval and COLA Laboratory accreditation in October 2011. Organizations that earn the Gold Seal have met rigorous performance standards and our entire team and home office are to be commended for this internationally recognized symbol of quality. COLA accreditation helps to further improve the lab and it means that our clinical laboratory is in compliance with the Joint Commission recognized CLIA. Setting the highest standards for our lab is important because it shows our extraordinary committment to provide safe, high quality care for you and your loved ones.
Grand Reopening at Beaumont Heart and Vascular Center
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand reopening of Beaumont Heart and Vascular Center took place on January 6, 2012. The new Philips Allura FD20 that was installed during the renovation will provide greater patient access and it will decrease the length of time required for procedures. This technology integrates high resolution visualization seamlessly with advanced diagnostic and 3D interventional tools.
Part of our quest to continue providing the highest in quality care for our patients is to provide a warm, friendly and comfortable atmosphere. Many changes were implemented from the ceiling down to the floor at our facility. Our hope is that these modern aesthetics will increase the level of comfort patients experience during their time with us.
NCP would like to recognize Patty Chesnick, Gregg Evans, Tricia Chapa and Terry Strane for their hard work throughout this process. During a busy holiday season, the team made sure everyone stayed on task over the aggressive 24 day timeframe that was budgeted for this project. Happy New Year, Beaumont Heart and Vascular!
NCP Kicks Off 2012 with Our 3rd Annual Leadership Conference
NCP's 3rd Annual Leadership Conference for 2012 was held January 26th - 27th at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, TX. Special thanks from the entire group go out to Monique Hineline for her attention to detail coordinating the meeting. The event was a huge success and we are proud to announce our award recipients for 2011!
Award of Excellence: Jesse Jamie, El Paso Cardiac and Endovascular Center
Home Office Team Member of the Year: John Roberts, Home Office
Clinical Director of the Year: Julie Occhipinti, Sweetwater Angiography Center
Business Office Manager of the Year: Christine Medrano, Travis Center Angiography
Special Recognition: Brandon Cropper, Gulf Coast Cath Lab
Special Recognition: Todd Broemer, Home Office
Chairman's Award: Anthony "Bubba" Moreno, Travis Center Angiography
President's Award: Melissa McClure, Home Office
During the event, one of our goals was to embrace NCP's mission statement, to provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to families and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients and EMPLOYEES take pride in. Leaders at our company spent a day with the Disney Institute looking at how we live our mission statement day-to-day in the cath lab. Recognizing that safety is always our first priority, we saw firsthand how our founding principles run parallel to those that built Disney. Keeping our focus on safety, integrity, service excellence, continuous improvement in measurable ways, innovation in service delivery, teamwork and employee development will continue to position NCP as the market leader in the dynamic cath lab industry.
