Tag: St. Mary’s Medical Center

New Technology Improves Outcomes For Heart Patients

A team of cardiologists at Marshall Health and St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute successfully used new technology to achieve better visualization and access to the heart, improving the success rate of cardiac ablation procedures.

Cardiologists at Marshall Health and St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute are the first in West Virginia to use a new technology and mapping catheter to treat patients with complex cardiac arrhythmias.

Electrophysiologist Khalid Abozguia, a professor of cardiovascular services at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, and his team successfully used new technology to achieve better visualization and access to the heart, improving the success rate of cardiac ablation procedures.

The first cases using this technology were performed in April at St. Mary’s Regional Heart Institute and have shown excellent results for patients.

“During the procedure, a small device called a watchman will be implanted in a structure we call the left atrial appendage of the heart,” Abozguia said. “And we found the evidence that suggests that this device effectively seals off the appendage, which leads to a reduction in the risk of a blood clot and potentially causing a stroke without the need to take a blood thinner, long-term.”

Cardiac ablation is a procedure that scars tissue in the heart to block irregular electrical signals to help heart rhythm problems.

“Cardio neuro ablation is a groundbreaking procedure, specifically for a young patient who experienced a fainting episode commonly known in the medical field as syncope, it tends to be related mainly to overactive activation of one of the nerves we call vagal nerve,” Abozguia said. “Traditionally, these patients if they don’t improve despite lifestyle, adjustment or medication, they may end up needing a pacemaker to prevent these fainting episodes. However, cardio neuro ablation offers an alternative approach in my opinion, even though this is still early days for this procedure.”

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

Hospital Acquisition Deal Finalized in West Virginia

The acquisition of St. Mary’s Medical Center by a hospital in West Virginia has been made official.

Cabell Huntington Hospital board of directors Chairman Dr. Kevin Yingling says the hospital finished the final steps of financing and paperwork to complete the acquisition of St. Mary’s Medical Center.

WSAZ-TV reported Thursday that both hospitals will be carrying out plans that included integrating electronic medical records and recruiting qualified physician specialists.

Years of litigation ended when Steel of West Virginia and Cabell Huntington agreed Steel of West Virginia would withdraw its challenges.

Steel of West Virginia backed off when Cabell Huntington promised to work with area businesses to improve overall workforce health and reduce incidents of hospitalization.

Court Blocks Release of Hospital Merger Documents

The West Virginia Supreme Court has blocked the release of documents related to the proposed merger of two hospitals.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the Supreme Court voted 3-1 on Wednesday to put a hold on Kanawha County Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman’s order to release the documents.

The case began when steel manufacturer Steel of West Virginia sued Attorney General Patrick Morrisey after he refused to release records about the merger of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center. The manufacturer says the merger will increase health care costs and lower the quality of patient care.

Morrisey says he hasn’t released the documents because he secured them while leading an antitrust investigation. His lawyers say other documents were “internal memoranda” and not subject to release.

West Virginia AG Told to Release Hospital Merger Documents

A judge has ordered West Virginia’s attorney general to release 89 documents about the merger of two hospitals in Huntington.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office has four days to appeal the ruling that he release about one-quarter of the documents he has withheld from public view relating to his investigation into the hospital merger.

In his order Friday, Kanawha County Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman wrote the public has a right to know about the “hotly-contested merger” of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center.

Morrisey has fought for more than a year to shield the documents from the public.

Kaufman’s ruling follows his behind-closed-doors review of 349 documents that Morrisey has refused to release.

Feds Drop Challenge to West Virginia Hospital Takeover

Federal regulators have dropped a challenge to a West Virginia hospital’s planned takeover of a nearby hospital.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday it has dismissed its antitrust challenge to Cabell Huntington Hospital Inc.’s proposed takeover of St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington.

In November 2014, Cabell Huntington agreed to assume control of St. Mary’s after the Pallottine Missionary Sisters ended their sponsorship of the hospital after 90 years.

Last year the FTC said the takeover would likely lead to higher costs to patients and lower quality of care. But the FTC Wednesday noted state lawmakers this year passed a law exempting the merger from state and federal antitrust laws if the West Virginia Health Care Authority approved the merger. The authority approved it last month.

State Approves Merger of Two Huntington Hospitals

The West Virginia attorney general has approved the merger of two hospitals in Huntington.

Local news outlets report that West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey signed off on the merger of Cabell Huntington Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center on Wednesday.

Morrisey concurred with the West Virginia Health Care Authority’s decision to approve the merger.

The state legislature had passed a law earlier this year exempting the hospital merger from state and federal antitrust laws if the agency approved the merger.

Officials from Cabell Huntington and St. Mary’s applauded the agency’s decision.

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