Life just got a little easier for Vanderbilt patients with structural heart disease.
Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute has consolidated the care for these patients, many of whom are elderly and live outside Davidson County, and has relocated the structural heart disease clinic from the main campus to Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks.
For patients with valve disease, congenital heart disease and some types of cardiomyopathy, the move to One Hundred Oaks means they are able to see a number of specialists and undergo testing in one visit, and at one location.
“The move to One Hundred Oaks provides convenience and streamlines care for our patients, many of whom have limited mobility. They require complex consultation, and now all of us who provide their care go in together as a team,” said David Zhao, M.D., director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab.
The half-day clinic meets every Monday and sees about five to eight patients.
Surgeons Stephen Ball, M.D., and Michael Petracek, M.D., along with cardiologists Marshall Crenshaw, M.D., Mark Robbins, M.D., Joseph Fredi, M.D., Zhao and clinic coordinator Sonia Scalf, R.N., rearranged their schedules so they can consult with patients together, saving them from making multiple visits. Patients are also able to undergo CT scans and ECHO testing while at One Hundred Oaks.
“It took us a while to organize that, but everyone agreed to do what’s best for our patients,” Zhao said. “We started on Feb. 4, and so far, it is going great. Our patients can get everything done; we make decisions about their care, right there.”
