The Heart Center of MetroWest and The CardioVascular Center at Tufts Medical Center announce clinical partnership

Affiliation brings advanced services to MetroWest region, including pre and post cardiac surgery care

BOSTON, Mass. – The Heart Center of MetroWest (HCMW), a 12-cardiologist specialty practice group, and Tufts Medical Center have entered into a new clinical partnership to enhance cardiovascular services for patients from the MetroWest region. HCMW physicians will join Tufts Medical Center’s CardioVascular Center and work with Tufts MC’s physicians and surgeons to provide comprehensive services, including pre and post cardiac surgery care, at MetroWest Medical Center. The relationship builds on the robust adult and pediatric partnerships Tufts Medical Center has developed with MetroWest Medical Center and its physicians over the previous two years.



“The cardiologists of The Heart Center of MetroWest are extremely excited about the high quality services and technologies the affiliation with Tufts Medical Center will provide to our patients,” said Patrick J. Blomberg, MD, Director of Arrhythmia Services at HCMW. “Tufts MC cardiologists and cardiac surgeons share our dedication and commitment to providing patients with superior, cost-effective care in a community setting, so this relationship will be a great benefit to our patients.”



The Heart Center of MetroWest, comprising four locations in Framingham, Natick, Marlborough and Medway, is one of the largest and most well-respected cardiology groups in the state and currently provides extensive services, including advanced cardiac imaging, cardiac rehabilitation, electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization, echocardiography and advanced diagnostic testing and imaging. HCMW physicians will continue to perform these services at MetroWest Medical Center.



For more complicated conditions or treatments, patients will have access to the comprehensive resources of Tufts Medical Center’s CardioVascular Center in Boston. HCMW physicians will perform complex cardiac catheterizations and ablation cases at Tufts Medical Center, and Tufts Medical Center’s renowned cardiac surgeons will perform bypass surgeries, heart transplants and other surgeries for HCMW patients.



“The physicians of Tufts Medical Center’s CVC value the opportunity to collaborate with our colleagues in the community,” said Marvin Konstam, MD, Chief Physician Executive of Tufts MC’s CardioVascular Center. “This strategic partnership will allow us to work side-by-side with a truly outstanding group of physicians to further advance cardiovascular care on a regional basis, making care more coordinated and more convenient for patients. We look forward to the great work we will be doing in partnership with the Heart Center of MetroWest.”



Most patients requiring advanced care in Boston will only have to travel to the city for the actual surgery. Cardiac surgeon, Duc Thinh Pham, MD, Surgical Director of Tufts MC’s Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation Program, will provide weekly, pre and post-surgical consultative sessions for HCMW patients in Framingham, saving them the drive to Boston.



“The weekly clinics at HCMW will provide needed continuity for patients receiving complex care. It will be especially effective in addressing any questions or fears patients might have before or after their surgery,” said Pham. “This clinical collaboration will improve overall quality and patient outcomes, as MetroWest area patients will have quick and easy access to HCMW or Tufts MC physicians, either in MetroWest or in Boston, depending on their needs.”



As part of the agreement, the HCMW cardiologists will join the Tufts Medical Center Physicians Organization and the MetroWest Accountable Health Care Organization (MWAHO). MWAHO is a member of New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA), Tufts MC’s physician network. HCMW physicians are also on staff at MetroWest Medical Center. This will increase an already strong collaboration in the market, as the physicians group at MetroWest Medical Center, which has both adult and pediatric affiliations with Tufts MC, chose to join NEQCA in 2010. As members of NEQCA, the HCMW doctors will work with more than 1,500 primary care and specialty physicians throughout the area to offer the latest innovations and advancements in clinical care and research.



About The Heart Center of MetroWest

The Heart Center of Metro West is a non-profit, 12-cardiologist specialty practice group with office locations in Framingham, Natick, Medway and Marlborough. The largest cardiology group in the MetroWest area and one of the largest in the state of Massachusetts, The Heart Center of MetroWest offers state of the art cardiovascular care through an extensive range of services, including advanced cardiac imaging and diagnostic testing, cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology. For more information, please visit www.hcmw.com.



About Tufts Medical Center
Tufts Medical Center is an exceptional, not-for-profit, 415-bed academic medical center that is home to both a full-service hospital for adults and Floating Hospital for Children. Located in downtown Boston, the Medical Center is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Floating Hospital for Children is the full-service children’s hospital of Tufts Medical Center and the principal pediatric teaching hospital of Tufts University School of Medicine. For more information, please visit www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org.