Baylor Already Seeing Benefits from Collaboration with Cleveland Clinic – By Gary Jacobson, Staff Writer for The Dallas Morning News
Baylor Scott & White Health won’t see its first patients as part of the Cleveland Clinic’s national cardiology network until next year, but the Dallas-based system is already benefiting from the affiliation.
Michael Mack, Baylor’s medical director of cardiovascular services, said that since news of the alliance surfaced last summer, a “handful” of patients who had planned to go to Cleveland for heart surgery decided instead to have their operations at Baylor.
“I’d be disappointed if we don’t have an additional 100 to 150 surgery patients in the first year,” Mack said.
The Dallas Morning News first reported on plans for the partnership in August. The organizations have scheduled a news conference for Thursday to make the deal official.
“We have been on a two-decade quality journey, and this is a major milestone,” Baylor CEO Joel Allison said. “We could not be more honored to announce a new alliance with an organization as well-respected as the Cleveland Clinic.”
The two organizations are about the same size. Baylor reported revenue of $6.8 billion in the fiscal year ending in June. The Cleveland Clinic had revenue of about $6.5 billion in calendar year 2013.
In interviews, Baylor and Cleveland Clinic officials stressed that through their partnership, heart patients will receive the same quality care at Baylor as they would in Cleveland. Many experts rate the Cleveland Clinic the best in the nation for heart care.
“Teamwork is the next phase of American medicine,” Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said.
That has already been on display in North Texas. In September, Dallas-based Methodist Health System joined the rapidly expanding Mayo Clinic Care Network, allowing consultation and collaboration between the organizations and caregivers.
The Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., are two of the strongest national brands among health care providers.
