Galichia Heart Hospital News

• Foreign Patients Receive Treatment Here
• GHH Lowers Cost of Heart Bypass Down to $10K
• Galichia Heart Hospital's New Menu
• Wichita Eagle Promotes Fast Emergency Care
• Heart hospital opens emergency department
• GHH to Celebrate Opening of Emergency Department
• GHH First to Offer High-Resolution CT Heart Scans
• GHH Simulation Training for Treating Coronary Artery Disease
• Galichia Heart may add ER
• Galichia prepares for opening of N.E. heart hospital

Local Lebanese Chef Livens Up Galichia Heart Hospital's Menu

Feb. 21--Lebanese chef George Youssef is expanding his Mediterranean flair beyond his popular Nouvelle Cafe in east Wichita. At the urging of several physicians who often each lunch there, Youssef now finds himself spicing up the routine fare in the cafeteria at nearby Galichia Heart Hospital, transforming the ordinary into attractive, healthy cuisine.

"They were looking for somebody to bring some new ideas to the cafeteria," said Youssef, who was a partner at Uptown Bistro before buying Nouvelle eight months ago.

"One of the doctors wanted to bring... not just Mediterranean, but healthy food, period, to the hospital," he said. "My main goal right now is trying new ideas and changing the menu for employees and patients."

New dishes, such as Monday's roasted tomato with spinach salad over chicken, have attracted the attention of staff and patients alike.

Last week, at least 30 people lined up for lunch at once, a fairly unusual site at the fledgling hospital, chief executive Steve Harris said.

"People are actually standing in line in the cafeteria now," he said.

"When you're in the hospital, food becomes a very important part of what can be a routine day. So we invited Chef George to come work for us and prepare very tasty, very visually appealing food."

Youssef is working closely with the hospital's dietitians and food preparation staff to train them on creating low-sodium, low-fat foods in a professional way, administrators said.

"We had very dedicated employees that had worked in food service, but they're not chefs," Harris said. "We're very excited about this."

For the past few decades, hospitals have increasingly moved away from bland, generic foods to the notion that food service could be an added amenity for staff and patients.

They hire professionally trained staff from renowned culinary institutes and often feature some of the best cafeteria food in an area.

Via Christi Regional Medical Center's executive chef, Linda Wenman, for example, trained in London. As part of her education, she once cooked for Prince Charles, hospital officials said.

Since hiring her in 1992, Via Christi has won numerous national awards, including the 2004 Silver Plate award from the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association and the 2005 Ivy Award, given by Restaurants and Institutions Magazine.

~ Andi Atwater • The Wichita Eagle
316-268-6642 or aatwater@wichitaeagle.com

Galichia Pledges Quick Service at ER

The full-service hospital is trying to increase awareness of its emergency department by promising a wait of 15 minutes or less.

Galichia Heart Hospital is promising a wait to see a physician of 15 minutes or less in its new emergency department.

With the $3.8 million, 14-bed emergency department that opened in May, Galichia is working to raise awareness of the full-service hospital, where emergency staff are on standby 24 hours a day.

"We want to give five-star hotel kind of service," said founder and cardiologist Joseph Galichia. "We're going to see you right away with friendly people, the most skilled staff and the best technology available at that point. We want to minimize bureaucracy."

The hospital has been working to increase its ER patient volume, where executives believe misconceptions about what the hospital offers have hindered growth expectations.

The short wait time is unique to the acute-care Galichia hospital, which is generally unconstrained by trauma patients and emergencies that are automatically directed by EMS to trauma centers at a Via Christi Regional Medical Center or at Wesley Medical Center.

Walk-in patients at those hospitals can anticipate longer wait times -- sometimes several hours -- for those reasons, and also due to sheer volume.

Wesley, for example, fielded 70,558 patients in its emergency room last year. Galichia Heart Hospital's ER has seen about 3,600 patients since it opened.

Wesley's average wait time to see a doctor is roughly 59 minutes, a spokesperson said. Galichia hospital averages 10 minutes.

"Fortunately we don't have these high-trauma patients coming into the ER, so we kind of have a leg up on the other places," Galichia said. "It's not a criticism of them, but that's the way we constructed it."

Galichia admits a 15-minute guarantee to see a physician is a big statement, implying there's some reward if a patient waits longer. Most likely, that patient will get a personal apology from the hospital's chief executive.

It's about the philosophy the hospital wants to ingrain in Wichita's health care culture, Galichia said. He wants to see the hospital known for fast, reliable, quality care.

"We're saying, if you think you have an emergency, you've come to the right place," he said. "We have a pretty dynamic situation -- doctors on staff right here, the clinic right across from the hospital. This is our goal, and we believe we can do that."

~ Andi Atwater • The Wichita Eagle
316-268-6642 or aatwater@wichitaeagle.com

Galichia Branches Out - Heart Hospital Opens Emergency Department

Galichia Heart Hospital will move even further from its specialty hospital roots with the opening Monday of its new emergency department. The $3.8 million project features 14 treatment beds --including eight private rooms and a six-bed holding area -- central monitoring, and access to the hospital's sophisticated technology, such as a 64-slice CT scanner.

Although Galichia -- located at 2610 N. Woodlawn -- remains 40 percent physician-owned with an emphasis on cardiology, chief executive Tom Nester said the emergency department cements the hospital's commitment to be a full-service health care provider.

"We're not the size of Wesley or Via Christi, but we're pretty much full service," he said.

"Obviously we don't do obstetrics or things like burns, but we see ourselves as a full-service hospital -- just a little bit smaller."

Galichia's initial state license in 2001 was as a specialty hospital. In recent years, it became licensed in Kansas as a general acute-care hospital, mostly because physicians and patients requested additional services and procedures, officials said.

The new emergency department is subject to federal law that requires treatment of any person who seeks help there regardless of ability to pay.

Galichia officials said they hope to see at least 30 to 35 patients a day once the emergency department gets established in the community. By comparison, Wichita's three existing emergency departments -- two of which house trauma centers -- fielded more than 163,000 patients in 2004, about 450 per day.

Galichia's emergency department isn't intended to compete with the city's existing emergency departments so much as complement them, officials said.

The hospital doesn't have the ability to admit severe trauma patients or handle inpatient pediatrics, but transfer agreements with local hospitals are being negotiated, and officials are working closely with police and EMS to establish protocol, said Mickey Whitney, chief clinical officer.

"These relationships are instrumental in having a functioning emergency department," he said. "The emergency services at other hospitals right now are just so overtaxed with patients seeking care -- we're glad to help the community with that."

The emergency department also created 40 new jobs in Wichita, mostly nurses and technicians who will staff the department 24 hours a day.

Administrators say Galichia's emergency department will have at least four nurses on duty at any given time -- a generous patient-to-nurse ratio by industry standards.

Emergency physicians, however, are being contracted through Emergency Services of Kansas, an 18-physician company that also staffs the emergency departments in Newton and Winfield.

"Our vision is pretty uniform everywhere we serve: Provide the best quality of care and treat every patient with respect," said physician Ted Cook, Galichia's emergency medical director. "And we'll take anybody who walks through that door."

~ Andi Atwater • The Wichita Eagle
316-268-6642 or aatwater@wichitaeagle.com

GHH to Celebrate Opening of Emergency Department for Wichita’s East Side

Galichia Heart Hospital will open the East Side’s first full-service, level III emergency department in early June.

A public open house will be held at the hospital from 2 to 4 p.m. on May 21, 2006, complete with hamburgers, hot dogs, snacks and drinks. B98’s Brett Harris will be on hand, broadcasting live.

The new Emergency Department will serve all areas of medical need.

“We’re set up to handle pretty much anything that comes our way,” said Emergency Services Coordinator Jo Clepper, RN, BSN, CCRN.

“Of course, the hospital has a reputation for cardiac expertise,” said ER Medical Director Ted Cook, M.D., “but over the past few years, Galichia has transitioned into a facility with a broad cross section of specialties, allowing us to operate a truly full-service emergency department. We’ll see everyone from newborns to centenarians.”

The new ER boasts many unique touches, like cable TV in treatment rooms and a specially decorated pediatric room.

The department has separate public and ambulance entrances and is just a few steps away from the hospital’s laboratory, Respiratory Therapy Department and 64-slice CT scanner.

With a comprehensive system of standing medical protocols in place, the department is set up to perform fast triage and care.

“We’ll perform bedside registration,” said Clepper, “so patients can provide their admittance information privately.”

The ER has 14 rooms, including eight private, two large-scale high-acuity, one pediatric, and six curtained-off cubicles for observation and fast-track patients.

The department will be staffed by unit clerks; emergency room technicians, many of whom are paramedics; and highly trained RNs, most of whom have both ER and ICU experience. “We’ve also hired a PICU nurse who will oversee pediatric training for the rest of the staff,” said Clepper.

A low patient-to-nurse ratio will allow staff to provide excellent patient care.

The department’s medical staff is contracted from Emergency Services of Kansas.

“It’s a great facility, an outstanding staff—and a much needed resource for the East Side,” said Cook.

Galichia Heart Hospital is a full-service medical facility with a staff of physicians specializing in cardiology, interventional cardiology, diagnostic radiology, nephrology, emergency medicine, nuclear cardiology, electrophysiology, interventional vascular medicine, gastroenterology, orthopedics, general surgery, sleep disorders, internal medicine, family practice and endocrinology.

GHH First In Wichita To Offer High-Resolution CT Heart Scan

Galichia Heart Hospital has become the first health care facility in Wichita to acquire a Siemens Somatom® Sensation 64-slice CT scanner, a device that significantly improves doctors’ abilities to diagnose heart disease.

Individuals with heart disease risk factors should visit www.FirstInWichita.com to learn more, then ask their doctors whether the scan is right for them. Risk factors include:

• family history of heart disease
• high cholesterol
• high blood pressure
• diabetes
• tobacco use
• obesity
• inactivity

A limited number of appointments are available with this introductory offer. The procedure is not covered by insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, and the fee must be paid by cash or credit card on the day of the scan.

“The 64-slice scanner makes it so easy to see heart conditions,” said Mark Bowles, M.D. “We’re able to diagnose conditions before they cause symptoms.”

“We can make the scan available at a lower cost than a heart catheter exam,” said CEO Tom Nester. “It’s also less invasive and requires almost no time off work.”

“What we have here is an unprecedented opportunity to save lives,” he said. “It would be wrong to keep this kind of technology behind closed doors. And the machine is so fast that we’ll be able to image a lot of patients in a day. We can acquire an amazingly detailed image in the span of a single breath-hold.”

“It’s every cardiologist’s dream,” said Gregory Boxberger, MD.

Bowles said, “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I can name just a handful of innovations over that time that represent quantum leaps in cardiac medicine. This is one of them.”

Galichia Heart Hospital is a full-service medical facility with a staff of physicians specializing in cardiology, interventional cardiology, diagnostic radiology, nephrology, emergency medicine, nuclear cardiology, electrophysiology, interventional vascular medicine, gastroenterology, orthopedics, general surgery, sleep disorders, internal medicine, family practice and endocrinology.

GHH to Provide Doctors Simulation Training for Treating Coronary Artery Disease

Galichia will sponsor one-day, state-of-the-art simulation training on March 1, 2006

Galichia Heart Hospital will host the Boston Scientific Mobile Simulation Training Unit on March 1, 2006 to provide state-of-the-art, hands-on education for its cardiac catheterization lab physicians and staff. The unit replicates a cardiac catheterization lab with realistic simulation technology that enables practitioners to explore new procedural solutions and to “perform” percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in a risk-free environment.

“Coronary artery disease (CAD) affects approximately 11 million Americans and is the single leading killer of American men and women,” said CEO Tom Nester. “Our interventional cardiologists strive to stay informed about the latest technology to battle this deadly disease. As technologies evolve and allow us to treat more challenging cases, it’s important for physicians to maintain the skill and comfort level needed to approach these high risk scenarios. Continuous training is valuable in this regard and helps us enhance the high standard of care we provide to Wichita and the surrounding area.”

The mobile training unit is a 35-foot bus, complete with a pre-procedure patient briefing area, an area for performing interventions on a simulated patient named Simantha® and a post-procedure metric evaluation computer station. Participants will have the option of performing interventions with lesions or blockages in the coronary arteries that are considered “high risk” or a scenario involving the use of the latest embolic protection device to treat a patient with a diseased saphenous vein graft (SVG) that was placed during coronary bypass surgery.

“This kind of simulation not only gives us a unique opportunity to learn new approaches to challenging cases, but also allows us to hone our skills and techniques,” said Dr. Joseph Galichia.

Galichia Heart Hospital is a full-service medical facility with a staff of physicians specializing in cardiology and a variety of other disciplines.

Galichia Heart may add ER

Galichia Heart Hospital officials say they are considering whether to open an emergency room at the 82-bed specialty hospital at 2610 N. Woodlawn in northeast Wichita.

Galichia Heart Hospital officials say they are considering whether to open an emergency room at the 82-bed specialty hospital at 2610 N. Woodlawn in northeast Wichita.

Six weeks ago the hospital made application to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to open an ER, says Galichia Heart CEO Tom Nester. CMS approval is needed in order for Galichia Heart to move forward with the ER plans and for that service to receive reimbursement from Medicare.

"We are seriously evaluating the possibility of doing it," Nester says.

The addition of an ER would allow the hospital to treat former patients with emergency conditions and who would otherwise be sent to one of the city's acute care hospitals, Nester says.

The announcement of plans for an ER follow an award for the hospital by HealthGrades.

The provider of health care ratings, information and advisory services named Galichia Heart as the Kansas recipient of its 2005 HealthGrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award for its overall cardiac care, cardiology services and coronary interventional procedures.

~ Jerry Siebenmark

Galichia prepares for opening of N.E. heart hospital

Construction on new offices for Galichia Medical Group PA are complete, and its CEO expects the new Galichia Heart Hospital to be operating by December.

Construction on new offices for Galichia Medical Group PA are complete, and its CEO expects the new Galichia Heart Hospital to be operating by December.

The new facilities, both of which are housed in the former Met Life building at 2600 N. Woodlawn, are part of an $11 million expansion and renovation project led by Dr. Joseph Galichia and his 23-member physician group.

Once complete, Galichia Medical officials say, the center will provide a continuum of cardiac services, a virtual of one-stop shop for heart care.

"My dream is to create a center which utilizes the highest technology in the world and does it in the most sensitive, caring way for the patient," says Galichia. "I'm looking for the kind of atmosphere of a five-star hotel with the same kind of attention to service and detail you would have in a facility like that."

Galichia Medical moved into its new offices in late June after spending the better part of a decade on the third and fourth floor of the Health Strategies Plaza at 551 N. Hillside, across the street from Wesley Medical Center.

John Mullen, Galichia Medical's CEO and a former Wesley executive, says the new offices, which occupy 35,000 square feet of the 107,000-square-foot building, more than doubles the examination areas it had at Health Strategies.

Included in the new offices are a diagnostic area with capabilities to perform echocardiograms and nuclear medicine scans of the heart and vascular system, and a cardiac rehabilitation area.

The hospital will be located on the back side of the building. Included in that area will be an eight-bed intensive care unit; two operating rooms for performing heart bypass surgery; four heart catheterization labs, one of which will be specially equip-ped for performing electrophysiology studies of the heart; separate employee and guest cafeterias; and 46 beds for patients who stay overnight, all of which will have cardiac monitors and ICU capabilities.

Mullen expects the hospital to employ a staff of 130 to 150.

Mullen says the business is there to make the Galichia Heart Hospital thrive in the coming years.

Exciting things to come

He expects most of the patients it will treat to come by way of Galichia Medical, which Galichia formed in 1984 and has built into a multi-specialty practice with a network of 21 satellite clinics in Kansas. A lot of its business comes from outside the Wichita area, and Mullen expects that's where Galichia Heart Hospital patients will come from, too.

Mullen says the heart hospital will not rely solely on the business it receives from Galichia Medical.

"Any physician will have the opportunity to practice within the facility and we would encourage that," he says.

Mullen says talks are underway with other physican groups -- including cardiology groups -- that serve the Wichita area, but he won't identify them.

Galichia is majority owner of Galichia Medical and one of five owners of the heart hospital. MedVentures, a Wichita-based medical investment group, and three silent investors share ownership in the heart hospital.

Having a small, local ownership group enables the heart hospital to be on the leading edge of introducing new, cardiac technology and treatments.

"There are exciting things to come out of this," he says.

The addition of a fifth cardiac hospital in Wichita -- Kansas Heart Hospital, Via Christi Regional Medical Center St. Francis and St. Joseph campuses, and Wesley Medical Center are the first four -- will have an impact on one another's business, Mullen admits.

It's likely to be felt most at Wesley, where Mullen says 60 percent of Galichia Medical's patients are admitted.

David Nevill, Wesley's chief operating officer and interim CEO, says the hospital expects to lose "several hundred" admissions a year once the Galichia Heart Hospital is operating.

It's hard, nearly impossible to make up for a sudden, dramatic loss of patients," Nevill says. "We'll have to think hard about how we can better position the medical center to better compete."

No hard feelings between Wesley and Galichia Medical have emerged because of the new heart hospital, Nevill and Mullen say.

"Our relationship with the hospitals will not change," Mullen says. "Their value is as important today as it has always been."

Mullen says patients with complex health problems will be referred to either Wesley or Via Christi.

The loss of patients at Wesley means it will have to look hard at its cardiovascular operations, Nevill says. Whether that means layoffs in that part of Wesley's business remains to be seen.

"We'll have to see how things play out," Nevill says. "But I feel confident that there are plenty of positions at Wesley Medical Center for the talented nurses and staff who work in the cardiovascular area.

"There's no shortage of nursing openings."

~ Jerry Siebenmark"