Case Studies

Cardiovascular Services

Electrophysiology Assessment

Lovelace Medical Center’s Electrophysiology (EP) program saw strong growth but faced challenges in workflow, documentation, communication, and resource use, which affected performance. Corazon was engaged to review clinical care and operations to identify improvements. Despite delivering high-quality care, issues like inconsistent documentation, communication gaps, and operational constraints hindered efficiency and patient flow. Rising indirect costs and limited performance visibility further strained financial sustainability and strategic decision-making for the program.

Heart Failure Business Plan

A 316-bed, academic, non-profit hospital located in New Jersey, engaged with Corazon to conduct a comprehensive business plan for the expansion of Heart Failure (HF) services. The growing rates of heart failure, especially advanced heart failure, pushed the organization’s cardiovascular team towards the development of an Advanced Heart Failure Program.

Cardiovascular Strategic Plan & Implementation

Southeast Georgia Health System (SGHS), located in Brunswick, GA, is a 316-bed, not-for-profit health system. SGHS engaged Corazon to assist in a cardiovascular strategic plan & implementation at their Brunswick campus, which serves as the main location for cardiovascular services.

Cardiovascular Strategic Planning

Corazon assisted Portneuf Medical Center (PMC) in Pocatello, ID in the development of a strategic growth plan for the cardiovascular program with focus on the existing Open Heart Surgery program’s sustainability and viability.

Heart & Vascular Center of Excellence

The Southwest Michigan-based, not-for-profit health system, Corewell Health Lakeland, offers a wide range of inpatient and outpatient care. In just two years, Corewell Health Lakeland Heart and Vascular has achieved six Corazon Accreditations across three campuses, all while earning the prestigious “Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence” at their St. Joseph Medical Center.

Advanced Cardiac Services Expansion (PCI & Cardiac Surgery)

Northside Hospital Gwinnett partnered with Corazon to provide advanced levels of cardiac services, including coronary interventions and surgery, both much needed in their community. Starting with a program plan and a Certificate of Need application, the expansion included a parallel track which allowed care to begin even sooner. Since going live, both programs have far exceeded their projected volumes and the hospital continues to receive recognition for their high quality cardiovascular program.

Cardiovascular Expansion

Coffee Regional Medical Center engaged Corazon to conduct a planning process for CV expansion to include the development of a cath lab and offering angioplasty. If feasible, Corazon would assist in submitting a Certificate of Need (CON) for these services. Once approved, Corazon would implement the expansion, and accredit their program. CRMC grew faster than anticipated, which engaged them in Corazon’s Platinum Accreditation to include ongoing peer review.

Cardiovascular Service Line Restructuring

Corazon assisted a large health system in the Midwest with service consolidation of their multi-site Cardiovascular Service Line. A proven approach to regionalize key services within a health system may allow providers to meet the market demands while sustaining Return on Investment, quality outcomes, and the health system’s trusted brand.

PCI Program Implementation

Grand View Health, which includes Bucks County’s first hospital, has provided residents of Bucks and Montgomery counties in PA with comprehensive healthcare services since 1913. Now, Grand View offers a range of inpatient and outpatient care — particularly emphasizing the areas of heart & vascular care, where a service expansion and resurgence of coronary intervention was deemed necessary to meet the growing needs of area patients.

TAVR Assessment

A 365 bed, not-for-profit hospital in the Midwest engaged Corazon to perform a review of quality data for their transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) program to validate the overall clinical quality and operating performance.

Ambulatory Surgery Center Services

Cath Lab ASC Assessment & Implementation

Corazon was engaged by a cardiovascular physician practice to expand their existing Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) by adding invasive cardiology services. This expansion aimed to enhance the practice’s service offerings and improve patient care through the development of a new cardiac cath lab within their existing ASC. Recognizing the need for specialized expertise, the center relied on Corazon to deliver a thorough readiness assessment along with cath lab “start-up” or implementation support. Corazon also ensured the successful establishment through Cath/PCI accreditation of their new cath lab in the existing ASC.

Vein & Vascular Clinic Assessment

Catholic Medical Center (CMC), located in Manchester, New Hampshire, is a 330-bed not-for-profit full-service acute care hospital, nationally recognized as a destination for heart and vascular care. Corazon was engaged to assist CMC in an operations assessment and implementation for the Vein & Vascular Specialists (VAVS) center. Corazon’s consultants examined the current vascular service offerings by location with particular emphasis on the operations, performance, and design of the VAVS site.

ASC Assessment

A large midwestern multi-specialty clinic with more than 600 physicians and 15 cardiology providers engaged Corazon, Inc. in March of 2022 to develop a business plan to validate the expansion of invasive cardiology services in a newly constructed Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC). Services in the ASC would include diagnostic cardiac cath, PCI, peripheral vascular, and EP. In addition, Corazon evaluated the clinic’s need to build a cath lab through new construction. This initiative aimed at retaining cardiology patients in the local clinic setting vs. the burden for patients to go to hospital providers which some are of great distance.

Neuroscience Services

Thrombectomy Education & Implementation

AdventHealth Redmond, a leader in healthcare innovation located in Redmond, GA, recognized the critical need to address large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes in their region. With Corazon’s expertise, they successfully implemented a state-of-the-art thrombectomy program, revolutionizing stroke care in Northwest Georgia.

Expanding Neuroscience Capabilities

Corazon client DePaul Medical Center, part of the BonSecours Health System, has a long, rich history as a healthcare provider. Challenges of declining reimbursement, the need for significant capital investment, competition for physician expertise, and outmigration of tertiary patients to competitors had made it increasingly difficult for Bon Secours to meet the comprehensive healthcare needs of the community.

In response, the team constructed a comprehensive plan for clinical program development based upon community need. Expanding neuroscience capabilities at DePaul was determined to be a system priority with an initial focus on Stroke Center Certification.

Neuroscience Program Development

Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Alabama, a 463-bed not-for-profit hospital offering comprehensive health services for people throughout the state, has a long history of providing care for neuroscience patients, particularly those affected by stroke. Recognition of the need for expanded neuroscience and orthopedic capabilities led Baptist to consider new opportunities through a comprehensive strategic planning initiative…the goal: to shape both neurosciences and orthopedics specialties for the future.

Thrombectomy Program Implementation

Baptist Medical Center South recognized a community need for life-saving and disability-sparing Mechanical Thrombectomy services and expanded neuroscience capabilities by working with Corazon’s experts to construct a comprehensive plan for the implementation of advanced stroke capabilities.

Orthopedic Services

Comprehensive Spine Services Development

Yavapai Regional Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona was already providing spine services, but realized many patients were leaving the area to seek care an hour or more away from home. The hospital worked with Corazon to establish goals for their comprehensive spine program and ensure these initiatives became a reality. A market assessment, facility review, and other components were central to developing the strategic direction for the spine program. The result is a highly collaborative spine center that is experiencing continued growth and is differentiated from competitors due to high quality and patient satisfaction scores.

Joint Replacement Program

Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame, California offers a full array of inpatient and outpatient orthopedic services within a state-of-the art facility. The medical center had long considered the development of a formalized total joint (TJR) replacement program, but was hindered by limited experience in orthopedic program development, along with a lack of focus and dedicated resources. Corazon was engaged to serve as project leader to initiate the expansion to a formalized TJR Center and ensure continued momentum throughout implementation.

Recruitment & Interim Management Services

Electrophysiologist

Our client, a 250-bed acute care facility located in western Michigan, partnered with Corazon to identify an experienced Electrophysiologist to function in a medical leadership role. The facility is part of a 21-hospital hospital health system with an award-winning health plan, 60,000 team members, 11,500 affiliated independent and employed physicians and advanced practice providers.

Noninvasive Cardiologist

Our Client, a premier heart and vascular institute with over 200 specialists across 10 hospitals as well as physicians’ offices through the greater Washington, D.C., central Maryland, and northern Virginia partnered with Corazon to identify a Noninvasive Cardiologist for a rapidly growing program. For over 60 years, our client has been the premier destination for world-class heart and vascular care in the diagnosis, treatment and research of cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular Service Line Director & Interventional Cardiologist

MUSC Health, located in Orangeburg, SC, is a 286-bed acute care hospital. Corazon was engaged to assist in the recruitment of a Cardiovascular Service Line Director and Interventional Cardiologist in conjunction with PCI Program expansion support.

Interim Clinical Nurse Specialist & Educator

Corazon placed a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Educator as an interim at multiple client sites. Through these engagements, the interim was able to showcase their talents and provide current educational materials and processes to prepare client nurse leaders for the future.

Corazon CONNECT Package

Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, AL worked with Corazon to expand their neuroscience offerings while finding the perfect fit for their Stroke Program Manager position using Corazon’s CONNECT Package.

Director, Cardiac Services

Our client, a 49-bed full service hospital located in Soldotna, Alaska was seeking a Director, Cardiac Services for a new PCI program. The facility provides a comprehensive range of medical services to meet the needs of patients in the community and has a valued reputation for providing quality healthcare. This distinction is maintained by a staff of more than 880 employees and a medical team of over 80 physicians and allied health professionals.

Director, Cardiovascular Services

A medical center in Georgia partnered with Corazon to implement an interventional cardiology (PCI) program. During this time, the need to recruit a Director of Cardiovascular Services became clear. It was during the implementation that the hospital fully realized the need to develop a service line approach for cardiovascular services and launched the recruitment for a Director of Cardiovascular Services while utilizing an Interim Administrator from Corazon’s pool of candidates.

Regional Director, Electrophysiology

Our Client, a 900-bed academic medical center located in Washington, D.C. was seeking a Regional Director of Electrophysiology to join a nationally recognized Heart & Vascular Institute. The facility is part of a ten-hospital health system that provides the highest quality of care to the residents of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Vascular Surgeon Recruitment & Practice Development

Corazon client Oregon Heart Center been a single-specialty group for over 30 years, working exclusively with Salem Hospital serving patients of the community for cardiology services. When the hospital set the goal to build a vascular program, the practice agreed to expand to vascular as well, and recruit new specialists to the group, working with Corazon to identify and hire the right talent.

Surgical Services

Perioperative Services

Corazon has worked extensively with IRMC’s leadership and physicians in the past, having completed numerous consulting, program accreditation, and peer review projects. Given the significant contribution of the surgical services to the financial health of the hospital, and the identified need to have a third-party review operations and facility use by IRMC surgeons and staff, Corazon was engaged to identify the root causes and develop solutions to improve the performance of the Perioperative Services.

Bariatrics Assessment

Emory Healthcare teamed up with Corazon to conduct a market assessment for the possible development of Bariatric Surgery Programs at Emory Healthcare Regional Affiliate Markets in Southern and Mid-Georgia areas. Corazon explored the market potential for a collaborative bariatric program at Coffee Regional Medical Center and identified other hotspots for bariatric services.

Physician Alignment

Orthopedic Physician Alignment

Texas Health Huguley, a prominent healthcare provider in the Fort Worth area, sought to enhance its orthopedic service line by creating a stronger alignment with physicians. To achieve this, the organization partnered with Corazon, known for its extensive experience in strategic alignment models for healthcare. Corazon’s involvement provided Texas Health Huguley with the guidance needed to navigate complex physician alignment options, balancing physician autonomy with the hospital’s goals to expand service offerings and market reach.

Cardiology Physician Alignment

AdventHealth Manchester offers a wide range of inpatient and outpatient care – particularly emphasizing the areas of heart and vascular, where a service expansion and increased cardiology presence was deemed necessary to meet the growing needs of area patients.

Knowing patients sometimes travel at least 25 miles for advanced
cardiac procedural care, AdventhHealth decided to remedy the access-to-care issue by working with Corazon to submit a Certificate of Need (CON) for diagnostic cardiac cath services in December 2018.

Hospital / Physician Partnerships

Recent trends reveal that Hospital / Physician partnerships remain first and foremost in the minds of hospital leaders and their physician counterparts. As laws in partnerships and reimbursement continue to change, and pressures increase to provide the highest clinical quality at the lowest possible cost, savvy leaders are wise to consider a formal arrangement with physicians in order to achieve or maintain excellence in care delivery and ensure operational efficiencies. Alignment strategies can also facilitate program and revenue growth, positively impact organizational reputation, and enhance competitive edge through market differentiation.

Physician Alignment

Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery, Alabama, a 463-bed not-for-profit hospital, has a long history of providing comprehensive care for musculoskeletal patients, particularly total joint replacement, spine, fracture, and sports medicine Given the significant contribution of the orthopedic services to the financial health of the hospital and the close relationship with the orthopedic Surgeons, both parties decided to pursue a closer alliance to solidify the relationship and synchronize goals and incentives.

The Heart & Brain Connection

AdventHealth Tampa

Organizations that experience success with a well-established, fully-functional cath lab often find that initial achievement of goals is quickly followed by questions about how to sustain it for the long term. The inclusion of neurovascular interventional capabilities
within the cath lab setting can be key to optimal utilization of resources, increased staff efficiency, and streamlined operations.

AdventHealth Tampa, a 536-bed hospital in Tampa, Florida took advantage of the heart and brain connection and Corazon had the opportunity to discuss with Brigitte Shaw and Dr. James Lefler about their program.

Community Hospital

Organizations that experience success with a well-established, fully-functional cath lab often find that initial achievement of goals is quickly followed by questions about how to sustain it for the long term. The inclusion of neurovascular interventional capabilities within the cath lab setting can be key to optimal utilization of resources, increased staff efficiency, and streamlined operations.
Community Hospital, a 458-bed hospital in Munster, Indiana, took advantage of this heart and brain connection and Corazon had the opportunity to discuss with Jill Conner, Administrative Director of Neuroscience and Cerebrovascular Services.

Explore Our Success Stories

Electrophysiology Assessment

Heart Failure Business Plan

Cardiovascular Strategic Plan & Implementation

Cardiovascular Strategic Planning

Heart & Vascular Center of Excellence

Advanced Cardiac Services Expansion (PCI & Cardiac Surgery)

Cardiovascular Expansion

Cardiovascular Service Line Restructuring

PCI Program Implementation

TAVR Assessment

Cath Lab ASC Assessment & Implementation

Vein & Vascular Clinic Assessment

ASC Assessment

Thrombectomy Education & Implementation

Expanding Neuroscience Capabilities

Neuroscience Program Development

Thrombectomy Program Implementation

Comprehensive Spine Services Development

Joint Replacement Program

Electrophysiologist

Noninvasive Cardiologist

Cardiovascular Service Line Director & Interventional Cardiologist

Interim Clinical Nurse Specialist & Educator

Corazon CONNECT Package

Director, Cardiac Services

Director, Cardiovascular Services

Regional Director, Electrophysiology

Vascular Surgeon Recruitment & Practice Development

Perioperative Services

Bariatrics Assessment

Orthopedic Physician Alignment

Cardiology Physician Alignment

Hospital / Physician Partnerships

Physician Alignment

AdventHealth Tampa

Community Hospital

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