Increase competitive edge – Stormont Vail Health

Service line assessment highlights cardiac care opportunities at Stormont Vail Health

Member: Stormont Vail Health, Topeka, Kansas

When the team at Stormont Vail Health expressed interest in evaluating its hospital's cardiothoracic surgery program, the Mayo Clinic team stood ready to collaborate on a comprehensive service line assessment. The goal was to discover performance and operational efficiencies to strengthen Stormont Vail's heart care practices.

As part of the project, a two-day onsite observation took place at the hospital in Topeka, Kansas, in May 2019. Four Mayo Clinic surgical subject matter experts performed a thorough analysis of the cardiothoracic surgical services, with a specific focus on clinical quality, scheduling, teamwork, communication, culture and growth opportunities. At the request of leaders at Stormont Vail, Mayo Clinic also explored the possibility of developing additional specialty practices such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and robotic cardiac surgery.

Research for the project included touring the hospital, observing the core surgical teams in action and conducting focus groups as well as interviews with various service line members and staff including nursing management, surgical techs, marketing staff and clinicians. Feedback from the study provided valuable insight on key surgical unit priority areas. The information allowed Mayo researchers to identify root causes of inefficiencies and then target their recommendations for improvement.

At the end of the study, Mayo Clinic delivered a formal written report that included expert observations and next steps. One proposed idea was the formation of a Surgical Operations Committee. The purpose of the committee would be to focus on decision-making initiatives that require multidisciplinary input from across the practice. The group could also give a voice to each team, improve communication and strengthen relationships between each cardiac care specialty.

"The tone and the deep understanding demonstrated by Mayo's team has set the stage for a successful transformation," says Kevin D. Dishman, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer at Stormont Vail Health. "We are moving forward with the majority of the recommendations put forth and have already accomplished unification of the cardiovascular and cardiothoracic surgery service lines."

Mayo Clinic's cardiothoracic service line assessment observed common challenges within surgical practices across the country. Thanks to the care network relationship, the benefit of the in-depth study was that it offered objective and targeted findings tailored to the unique needs of Stormont Vail Health. Without a doubt, awareness of the findings as well as the feedback positioned Stormont Vail well for future success as a growing and patient-focused hospital.

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