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FTMC expands in Huron County
By Anonymous
Publication: Toledo Business Journal
Date: Thursday, November 1 2007
FTMC expands in Huron County
By Anonymous
Publication: Toledo Business Journal
Date: Thursday, November 1 2007
Fisher-Titus Medical Center (FTMC) hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking last month for its Heart & Vascular Center in Norwalk, Ohio.
"We have taken many measures to enhance our technology and recruit additional highly experienced physicians-and staff so that we can offer [important] services to our community," stated FTMC president Patrick J. Martin.
Along with physician office space, the estimated $11.3 million, 22,000 square foot FTMC Heart & Vascular Center addition will include two heart and vascular labs; an 11-bay pre- and post-operative area, space for non-invasive cardiac diagnostics including a stress lab, echo lab, pacemaker/device clinic, EKG, and Holter Monitoring; a new cardiac catheterization lab; relocation of the existing vascular lab and support space; and the relocation of the current cardiac rehabilitation department.
"The vision for our Heart and Vascular Center is to provide a one-stop location for all heart and vascular services right here in Huron County," Martin added. "We plan for the center to be very patient and family focused."
The Robins & Morton Group is the general contractor for the project and Bostwick Design Partners is the architect. American Health Facilities Development, LLC is the project manager.
"An extreme amount of planning goes into developing a new service line," explained Lorna Strayer, FTMC's vice president of business development. "It begins with the vision of the board of directors and looking at what best serves the community. Then, hospital administration, following the board's direction, measures community needs and studies the financial aspects and what is needed to support a service line."
According to FTMC, planning and research of its cardiovascular services began in 2005; the center's board of directors and administration then determined the services to be an asset to the community. During the research process, hospital leaders discovered that patients with heart conditions were being sent to hospitals outside the community.
"That is when the vision begin to bring services such as diagnostic low-risk heart catheterizations and vascular procedures to our community," sated Strayer. "We recruited additional highly qualified physicians to support the already established cardiology team at North Ohio Heart, and we hired additional staff with a vast amount of experience in cardiovascular procedures."
The hospital hired Dr. Barry Zadeh, a cardiovascular/endovascular surgeon, and new equipment was added to support heart and vascular services. In fall 2006, FTMC renovated the former special procedures lab and equipped it with technology designed to provide state-of-the-art cardiovascular and endovascular diagnostic and interventional procedures for area patients.
Since September 2006, Zadeh has performed more than 600 endovascular procedures.
In July 2007, three board certified cardiologists - Drs. Christopher J. Cooper, Raj Karnik, and Daniel J. Kosinski - joined FTMC; the doctors supplemented cardiac services provided by North Ohio Heart Center cardiologists Drs. Hassan M. Ibrahim, W. Patrick McGuinn, and Mourhaf Traboulssi. The University of Toledo Physicians Heart and Vascular cardiologists also set up a full-time cardiology office in the medical center.
"With the addition of the University of Toledo Physicians Heart and Vascular cardiology group, we not only bring additional caring, experienced professionals to our community, but we also offer different types of cardiology services that were not provided before, such as low-risk diagnostic heart catheterizations and internal defibrillator implants," explained Suzanne Inglis, FTMC's director of cardiovascular services.
Also during this time, some hospital departments were realigned to provide an integrated cardiovascular service line. Cardiovascular services include cardiac rehabilitation, stress testing, echocardiography, pacemaker clinic, and the cardiovascular lab. The staff includes 20 employees. Additionally, members of FTMC's nursing staff received specialized training on various cardiovascular topics, according to the hospital.
In addition to imaging equipment installed in the vascular lab in 2006. FTMC will install Toshiba's Aquilion 64 CFX, a 64-slice CT scanner. later this year. According to FTMC, the CT scanner delivers high-speed, high resolution imaging, which allows physicians to capture precise images of any area of the body, including the rapidly moving heart and lungs.
"Computer Tomography (CT) imaging, also known as CAT scanning, combines the use of a digital computer with a rotating x-ray device to create detailed cross-sectional images or 'slices' of the different organs and parts," stated Dr. Matthew F. Gutowicz, Jr., chief of FTMC's department of radiology and nuclear medicine. "With this new technology, we will be better equipped to detect heart disease at its earliest stages."
The CT scanner will be located in a renovated space adjacent to the new center.
"The wide range of clinical applications of this new CT, from stroke to cardiac to orthopedic, allows us to perform faster diagnosis and comprehensive reporting in minutes with better images using the lowest possible doses of radiation," Strayer added. "All of these items combine to bring higher levels of quality healthcare to our community."
The original 101,000 square foot Fisher-Titus Memorial Hospital was built in 1957. Approximately $30 million in renovations and additions from 1964 through 1997 expanded the facility to 229,000 square feet. Since 2000, more than $70 million has been invested in construction projects at FTMC, according to the institution, including medical park buildings, the FTMC Patient Pavilion, FTMC Cancer Care Center, FTMC Rehabilitation Center, and internal renovations. With the 101,000 square foot Patient Pavilion, the Medical Center grew to 330,000 square feet.
In September 2006, FTMC's $14.5 million Phase II project expanded adult and pediatric rehabilitation services and cancer services into 43,000 square feet of space, expanding the medical center to over 370,000 square feet.
FTMC's 49.5-acre campus includes medical buildings that house dialysis and mental health services, physician offices, and The Carriage House of FTMC.
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American Health Facilities Development, LLC
105 Continental Place | Brentwood, TN 37027-5014 | Phone: (615) 371-4733
7460 Warren Parkway, Suite 180 | Frisco, TX 75034 | Phone: (972) 987.1800
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