CORAZON'S BOOK REVEALS KEY STRATEGIES FOR OUTSTANDING CV PROGRAM
Improved Patient Outcomes Linked to Operational Efficiency and Reduced Costs

April 9, 2003 - Pittsburgh, PA—A breakthrough new book, GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT: PROVEN STRATEGIES TO BYPASS THE COMPETITION IN CARDIOVASCULAR SERVICES, written by the Heart Experts at CorazonConsulting, provides health care leaders with an in-depth picture of how to strategically develop and sustain a successful cardiovascular program. This text offers detailed guidance and practical advice to position providers for the next generation of cardiovascular care delivery if they are to become best in class.

“In today's economy, heart care is a multibillion dollar business with no end in sight. With the aging of the population and baby boomers becoming cardiac consumers, the demand for cardiovascular services will continue to escalate,” said Jackie Johnson, President and Founder of Corazon and lead author of GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT.

Corazon provides specialized consulting services to health care providers for cardiovascular program development, from assessment to planning through implementation. “Over the next five years, the need for in-hospital cardiovascular services is expected to increase 44% more than other services,” according to Johnson. “We wrote this book to share our experiences with other health care executives so that all of our hospital and health care institutions will be primed to meet the growing demand for cardiovascular care.”

Cardiovascular services can represent over 40% of net revenue to an acute care hospital and are responsible for 20-40% of hospital admissions. In today’s competitive environment for cardiovascular services, effective business planning is essential for the smooth, profitable functioning of this vital service line. Whether hospitals are deciding to enter a new market, expand the current service into a new wing, or determine the feasibility of a Heart Hospital , GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT provides keen advice to assure sound results.

Written in a very straightforward style and drawing from hundreds of interviews with CEOs, CFOs, physicians, and the authors’ broad consulting and business experience, GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT is a comprehensive book that redefines the landscape of the modern cardiac intensive care unit. Incumbents and newcomers alike will learn from the Corazon team as they share their experiences and shape a “best-practice” approach to cardiovascular program development. Ken Buser, President and CEO of All Saints Health Care System in Racine, Wisconsin who wrote the Forward for the book notes, “Corazon provides revolutionary support for health care providers that are truly interested in significantly improving cardiac services and mapping a blueprint for success.”

This text has also benefited from an extensive peer review and includes the commentary of over 70 leaders -- in the field—hospital executives, cardiologists, surgeons, anesthesiologists, CV service line directors, attorneys, architects, IS professionals, and consultants. In this way, GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT is a publication rich in wisdom and practical advice that reaches even beyond the collective Corazon experience.

GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT presents cardiovascular providers with the means to accept, embrace, and prepare for the future to ensure success. “This book provides essential information for the CEO and cardiovascular physician -- who without this foundation are doomed to mediocrity,” said John Jeter, M.D., President and CEO of Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kansas .

T he authors assert that ‘outstanding’ cardiovascular programs are those with lowest length-of-stay and per-case costs. The book explains how providers must implement “best practice” as the standard of care if they are to become market leaders, since today’s consumers will accept no less. GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT describes the use of external benchmarking and program report cards as essential elements in the management of cardiovascular services to support top-notch clinical and financial outcomes. This text shows how attention to all aspects of the cardiovascular care continuum can be the key source of competitive advantage and the most viable platform for successful expansion and overall excellence in cardiovascular service delivery.

GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT lays out the strategic framework for cardiac care providers for such issues as evaluation criteria for multifaceted operational and market analysis, models to forecast capacity and financial requirements, metrics to manage ongoing success, facility design and construction planning, staff education and training, community outreach, and efficient clinical practice.

Read about:

• The changing roles of the cardiologist and heart surgeon and how to develop joint venture strategies that align heart doctors with the hospital goals
• Heart Hospitals , a current fad or a permanent breakthrough in how we deliver cardiovascular care?
• The strategic business imperative of applying the service line management to excel in cardiovascular services
• Guiding principles for smart facility design and the latest innovation using the Cardiac Universal Bed
• The emergence of Vascular Centers and the merit of developing this “diamond in the rough”

GETTING TO THE HEART OF IT, published by The Corazon Book Series, is specially tailored to help health care leaders cope successfully with today’s marketplace challenges. The 288-page book, which will retail for $89.95, provides the tools and concepts of strategic management, plus strong analytic skills. This book advances Corazon’s mission of delivering state-of-the-art cardiovascular programs that benefit health care organizations, as well as the community served.

Corazon is a recognized leader in strategic cardiovascular program development, assisting clients through the full spectrum of consulting services from feasibility study and business planning through implementation of services. The Corazon team of Heart Experts has assisted healthcare leaders and physicians in tertiary centers and community hospital settings to bring specialized advice and progressive thinking in cardiovascular services to strategic planning, market assessments and financial analyses, clinical operations and new technology, Heart Centers and Heart Hospitals, physician-hospital partnering, best practice benchmarks, and staffing models and staff education for well-developed or newly established cardiovascular programs. Corazon pioneered the application of the Universal Bed in cardiovascular care delivery and brings firsthand experience with service line management as a progressive organizational means for healthcare providers. Corazon is a 2003 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Company and one of the 2004 “ Pittsburgh 100” Companies.

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