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Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute has formalized an affiliate partnership with Penn Medicine, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, to ensure the highest level of care for those served by Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) who need a heart transplant.
About 90 percent of patients with heart failure who choose Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute for their care are able to receive all of their treatment in the Lehigh Valley. Those requiring a heart transplant will be referred to Penn Medicine, whose teams are equipped to treat the most complex cases. Penn Medicine has one of the largest heart transplant programs in the country — performing nearly 1,500 heart transplantations since 1987. After the transplant, patients are able to receive all follow-up care and continued heart care at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute.
“When someone requires the most complex level of care, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute makes sure our patients are in the right hands for the best treatment,” says Ronald Freudenberger, MD, MBA, Physician in Chief, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute. “As affiliate partners, Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute and Penn Medicine recognize patients and their families may prefer to stay close to home for their care. That’s one of the benefits of this relationship—working jointly to ensure more advanced care is available for heart transplant patients when they need it.”
Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute has the region’s largest team of board-certified, advanced heart failure specialists and offers the latest heart support devices to care for patients with complex heart disease. The Heart and Vascular Institute provides treatments for patients with complex cases of heart disease that many hospitals turn away. In some cases of severe heart failure, a heart transplant may be the best option. The relationship with Penn Medicine not only provides access to advanced transplant care through the Penn Transplant Institute, but diagnostic testing, breakthrough therapies and clinical trials.
“Penn Medicine is proud to support Lehigh Valley Health Network in delivering advanced cardiac care—whether that’s providing heart failure care close to home or a heart transplant in Philadelphia,” says Michael A. Acker, MD, Director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center and Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “Our health systems are committed to delivering exceptional, personalized and convenient care for patients across the region, and we will deliver the best plan of care for patients through a coordinated, collaborative approach.”
For more information, visit LVHN.org/hearttransplant.