An offshoot of HSHS Saint John’s Hospital has decided to stop doing medical procedures at Memorial Medical Center, and practice only at Saint John’s.
Prairie Heart Institute’s Prairie Cardiovascular is discontinuing its work with Memorial Medical Center as of the end of the month — something Executive Vice President Kristin Doster says is more a result of heart health technology than a business decision.
“As we look at advances in medicine, we look at changes in healthcare just across the national continuum, we’ve seen a shift not just in cardiology, but in all specialties, from inpatient services to outpatient,” says Doster. “Now, almost seventy percent of our care is delivered on the outpatient side.”
Doster says in order to be more “nimble”, staying with Saint John’s only is a better option.
Memorial CEO Edgar Curtis says work from Prairie Heart was responsible for as much as a million dollars a month last year, but he’s not just looking to make a buck.
“I don’t look at things strictly from an economic standpoint. I look at it from a patient’s perspective,” says Curtis. “Patient choice is very important to me. I want the patients in the community to always have a choice where to go for care.”
Curtis says if anything, he’s more disappointed that Memorial patients will have one less choice for heart-related needs, but says SIU School of Medicine and Springfield Clinic doctors are still available.
