Baylor Scott & White Health Launches Alliance with America's No. 1 Heart Hospital, Cleveland Clinic

DALLAS, Dec. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Baylor Scott & White Health today announces an alliance with Cleveland Clinic's Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute. The alliance creates a collaboration involving the academic, clinical and research components of Cleveland Clinic and three Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals:

• Baylor Jack and Jane Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital 
• Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas 
• The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano 

The three Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals will be the exclusive providers for Texas and Oklahoma cardiac patient referrals from the Cleveland Clinic's Cardiovascular Specialty Network, which allows patients to seek Cleveland Clinic-directed care closer to home. Baylor Scott & White Health joins two other alliances in Cleveland Clinic's Cardiovascular Specialty Network: North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in New York and MedStar Heart Institute in Washington, D.C.  Under the agreement, Cleveland Clinic and the three Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals will share best practices, coordinate care and develop programs to improve quality and patient safety.

"With so much talk of consolidation and collaboration in health care today, this is an example of the types of collaborations of the future," said Joel Allison, CEO of Baylor Scott & White Health. "We are honored to be selected for this cardiovascular specialty network, and we're excited to welcome patients from throughout Texas and Oklahoma."

"Teamwork is the next phase of American medicine. Hospitals and medical centers are reaching out across cities, regions and state lines. We're finding new ways to combine our strengths for better patient care," said Toby Cosgrove, M.D., president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic. "We share a common goal: to eradicate heart disease in our time."

"As we sought high quality alliance members, we assessed Baylor Scott and White Health's cardiac programs, infrastructure, resources and outcomes to ensure the system could provide comparable quality to our mission," said Joseph Cacchione, M.D., Cardiologist and Chairman of Operations and Strategy at Cleveland Clinic's Heart & Vascular Institute. "This alliance will allow us to deliver world-class care to patients who live in Texas and Oklahoma."

Michael Mack, M.D., Baylor Scott & White Health medical director of cardiovascular services, said patients would be paired with cardiovascular specialists based on expertise, experience and track record of successful outcomes. "We are thrilled to be selected by Cleveland Clinic for this alliance and to be recognized for the quality care we have provided to our patients over the years," Mack said. "We look forward to the opportunity to serve the patients of Texas and Oklahoma."

The three Baylor Scott & White Health hospitals have a track record of innovation and quality care:

• Baylor Hamilton Heart and Vascular Hospital opened in 2002 as the North Texas region's first hospital dedicated solely to heart and vascular care. In 2014, it was awarded the Texas Award for Performance Excellence (TAPE), the state's highest honor for quality and organizational performance.
• Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, the flagship hospital of Baylor Scott & White Health – North Texas division, is ranked #1 Best Hospital in the Dallas metro area by U.S. News & World Report.  The Ventricular Assist Device Program for heart failure patients at Baylor University Medical Center was the first in the country to receive the Gold Seal of Approval™ from The Joint Commission.  Most notably, the hospital has the second largest heart transplant program by volume in the country with outcomes that exceed the national average.
• The Heart Hospital Baylor Plano is the largest cardiovascular specialty hospital in the country. The hospital ranks in the top 8 percent in quality based on scoring the highest rating from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons for aortic valve replacement, coronary artery bypass surgery, and aortic valve replacement with coronary artery bypass graft procedures in 2013, an achievement only 14 hospitals in the country have earned.

About Baylor Scott & White Health
Baylor Scott & White Health, the organization formed from the 2013 merger between Baylor Health Care System and Scott & White Healthcare, is today the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. With total assets of $9 billion* and serving a population larger than the state of Virginia, Baylor Scott & White Health has the vision and resources to provide its patients continued quality care while creating a model system for a dramatically changing health care environment. The organization now includes 49 hospitals, more than 800 access points, more than 5,800 active physicians, 35,000 employees and the Scott & White Health Plan. For More Information visit:

BaylorScottandWhite.com

* based on unaudited 2014 fiscal year statements

About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. More than 3,000 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 11,000 nurses represent 120 medical specialties and subspecialties. The Cleveland Clinic health system includes a main campus near downtown Cleveland, eight community hospitals, more than 75 Northern Ohio outpatient locations, including 16 full-service Family Health Centers, Cleveland Clinic Florida, the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Cleveland Clinic Canada, and, scheduled to begin seeing patients in 2015, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. In 2012, there were 5.1 million outpatient visits throughout the Cleveland Clinic health system and 157,000 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 130 countries. Visit us at www.clevelandclinic.org.  Follow us at www.twitter.com/ClevelandClinic.

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SOURCE Baylor Scott and White Health