ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center is expanding its presence in Southeast Michigan to bring specialty care closer to home for Michigan patients.
Fourteen new cardiologists will join health centers in Metro-Detroit and Ann Arbor and collaborate with specialists in the U-M’s nationally known programs in heart failure, heart transplant, stroke, congenital heart disease, valve surgery, implanted heart-assist devices, heart rhythm disorders, preventive care and vascular medicine and surgery.
The expansion happens as the Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Health System sees a surge in its outpatient visits.
“We’re moving forward as a team to provide advanced cardiovascular care in areas where we’re seeing continued demand,” says Robert Keast, administrator in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the U-M.
The new cardiologists will see patients at the Canton Health Center, Chelsea Health Center , Livonia Health Center and the Saline Health Center. It’s the first time the U-M has offered cardiology care in Saline.
The additional cardiologists will reduce the wait for scheduled appointments and broaden the U-M’s expertise in women’s cardiology, pulmonary hypertension, electrophysiology and minimally invasive valve replacement.
One of the new cardiologists joins the transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) clinic where an emerging strategy for replacing diseased aortic valves is offered to patients who are too frail for open heart surgery.
These kinds of advancements in medical and surgical interventions and drug treatment have gone a long way in reducing deaths from heart disease and stroke, but heart disease remains the leading cause of death in Michigan and the United States.
“An aging population, rising risk factors such as obesity, and continued challenges in patient access could mean losing ground in those advancements,” says cardiologist David J. Pinsky, M.D., a director of the U-M Cardiovascular Center.
“We hope to make a difference in the quality of life of Michigan residents using the expert medical teams and dedicated researchers who work here in Ann Arbor and in the communities we serve,” he says.
In addition to hospital-based care in Ann Arbor, half of the U-M Cardiovascular Center's adult patients receive their care at Domino’s Farms and other facilities in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities.
Last year, 1.6 million adult outpatient visits took place at the Health System’s 40 ambulatory care locations, and demand for that care is rising about 3 percent a year.
Upgrades to the outpatient clinics at the Taubman Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. and the recently announced health center in Northville, Mich. that will open in 2014, will help meet that demand.
To make an appointment for heart or vascular care, call or email the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center New Patient Coordination Center at 888-287-1082.
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The University of Michigan’s commitment to providing advanced cardiovascular care led to the creation of the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center. The 5-level facility opened in 2007 and unites the U-M Health System’s cardiovascular services. The Center includes operating rooms, clinics, inpatient beds and indoor and outdoor healing gardens. The U-M is the top heart and heart surgery program among Michigan hospitals and ranks No. 12 in the nation for heart care. To learn more visit www.uofmhealth.org/heart.