Stormont-Vail HealthCare joined the Mayo Clinic Care Network one year ago this month. In a news conference today, Stormont-Vail and Mayo Clinic officials commemorated the anniversary by providing an update to a group of board members, staff and community leaders.
Stormont-Vail President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Peterson cited collaboration between Stormont-Vail and Mayo Clinic physicians and leadership as the foremost accomplishment of the membership in the first year. “I am pleased to report that our physicians completed 163 eConsults for patients in the past 12 months. That means 163 times our physicians were able to consult with Mayo specialists as they work to ensure the best diagnosis and treatment options are found for our patients,” said Peterson.
Lambert Wu, M.D., Cotton-O’Neil cardiologist, is Stormont-Vail’s physician champion for the network relationship. “I am pleased with the Mayo Clinic Care Network collaboration,” said Dr. Wu. “Many of our physicians have embraced the collaboration and are now providing our patients with access to Mayo Clinic expertise, while keeping their care right here at home.”
Cotton-O’Neil Oncologist Mehmood Hashmi, M.D., has used eConsult 15 times in the past 12 months. “The eConsult service is an excellent resource for Stormont-Vail physicians and patients,” said Dr. Hashmi. “I have used it in complex cases and it has helped me to provide the best possible solution for patients.”
Jakica Tancabelic, M.D, Cotton-O’Neil Pediatric Hematologist and Oncologist, said the eConsult service is a great opportunity to discuss complicated cases with experts in the field and to confirm that the treatment provided here at Stormont-Vail is on target.
In addition to the eConsult service, Stormont-Vail also has taken advantage of networking opportunities with other Mayo Clinic Care Network members. Stormont-Vail sent staff to the network’s Leadership summit and the health care symposium this past year. “Both of these meetings allowed us to meet and interact with other network members, assist in investigating and developing new services for members and share best practices on key strategic issues like population health, cybersecurity and managed care strategies,” said Peterson. Peterson also served on a panel of network CEOs that met to discuss strategies around population health.
During the past year, Stormont-Vail staff has also consulted with Mayo Clinic experts on several specific patient care issues, including nurse retention strategies, palliative care resources for patients and families, and during the Ebola crisis Mayo Clinic resources were consulted to develop site-specific protocols for identifying and treating Ebola virus.