With technology and clinical outcomes comparable to large academic centers, this exceptional community hospital adeptly measures up against the best earning numerous awards, accolades and national recognition while maintaining their small town community service and care.

Although Venice Regional Medical Center has achieved national recognition for the competency of its medical care and has invested extensively in state-of-the-art technology, it has retained the comforting reassurance of personalized care that is the hallmark of a true community hospital.
Nowhere is that more apparent than with Venice Regional’s cardiac program, which has garnered a bouquet of national accreditations and recognitions, including most recently a Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission, the nation’s leading accreditor of health care organizations.  The Commission recognized Venice Regional as a Top Performer on Key Quality Measures in heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia.  It also received a Silver Award on stroke guidelines.
In November 2010, Venice Regional was recognized as one of Thomson Reuters 50 Top Cardio Hospitals nationwide, its fifth consecutive year on the prestigious list.  In addition to the heart failure program’s certification by the Joint Commission, Venice Regional was surveyed by the Society of Chest Pain Centers and recommended for Chest Pain accreditation.  It also received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines© Stroke Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award among even more recognitions.
“What first attracted me to come to work here were the superb clinical outcomes, which are equivalent to a large academic center, but with the one-on-one caring of a community hospital,” said Rick Weirzbicki, director of the Cath Lab.  “This has changed the face of cardiology and cardiac surgery.  We have a vibrant program here and now are the preferred hospital for cardiac surgery in the area.”  Weirzbicki said performance statistics and patients’ experience are testament to the efficacy of care.  “Our technology here is comparable to those hospitals with the most well recognized names, and we have comparable outcomes,” he added.
Those outcomes include surpassing Thomson Reuters’ performance criteria for its Top 50 hospitals, which include 33 percent fewer risk-adjusted deaths for bypass surgery, fewer complications (21 percent fewer for heart failure,) fewer patients readmitted within 30 days of discharge, and shorter hospital visits resulting in lower costs.  One key measure cardiologists closely tie to survival is “door-to-balloon time.”  Studies indicate that patients experiencing serious heart attacks should have their arteries cleared within 90 minutes for optimal outcomes.  Venice Regional was able to provide this level of care for patients 98 percent of the time in 2010, the best performance in Sarasota County.
“It is good to have the artery open in approximately 90 minutes, although not everyone is able to be done in this time because some have other issues that need addressed. There is a lot more to this than just statistics,” said Dr. Michael Basnight, a cardiologist with the Heart and Vascular Center of Venice.  “Venice Regional does a good job of pre- and post-care of patients.  I have no qualms going there and taking my patients.  Their providers operate from the viewpoint of integrity; of what is right for the patients, so you get the good outcomes and, hopefully, the statistics the accrediting bodies are looking for.”
What the Joint Commission looks for in its recognition program is adherence to evidence based clinical procedures that demonstrably improve care for certain conditions like heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and children’s asthma.  Venice Regional was one of only 405 hospitals nationwide to be named a top performer for meeting or exceeding a 95 percent performance target for each accountability measure as well as an overall composite measure, which included measurements for which there were less than 30 patients.
Venice Regional Chief Operating Officer Darcey O’Brien says that earning accolades is one way of ensuring everyone knows that delivering quality care is the hospital’s goal, and that teamwork is a must in order to achieve those recognitions.  “The goal of any certification is to get a stamp of approval from a leading organization to assure staff, physicians and the community that we are following best practices and assuring the best outcomes for patients,” O’Brien said.  “There is a lot of focus on cardiac care delivered in the emergency room for acute onset symptoms.  The excellent collaboration among EMS, emergency room physicians and cardiologists means the community can be confident that we are following best practices.”
Dr. Scott Woolverton, an interventional cardiologist with South County Heart Center agrees that teamwork is vital to achieving a 90-minute or better goal for heart attack patients.  “We are good at the team effort, starting when EMS picks up the patient and following through at the hospital with the front line staff, physicians and Cath Lab,” Woolverton said.  “It’s important because the quicker the blood flow is reestablished to the heart muscle, the less muscle death.”
“The recognition Venice Regional has received in the last several years is a result of the commitment the doctors and the institution have in providing good, comprehensive patient care.  The recognition is just icing on the cake for what they do every day,” said Dr. Edmund Bermudez of Florida Cardiovascular Consultants.  “The hospital has provided excellent cardiology and cardiac surgery services and has tried to expand and improve on an already good foundation of cardiovascular care.  The physicians and the hospital working together combine to make a good experience for the patient.”
The emphasis on teamwork is good for patients outside of the emergency room as well, according to Dr. Jonathan Fong, who is a cardiovascular thoracic surgeon with the Venice-Ocala Heart Institute.  “We have an exceptional group of cardiologists at Venice Regional Medical Center, and our teamwork is outstanding.  The cardiologists recognize Dr. Mateo Dayo and myself as thoughtful cardiovascular thoracic surgeons, and they feel comfortable asking for a true surgical opinion,” Fong said.  “Unlike most programs that teamwork allows the patients to truly get a real look at their options.  They get to see both sides of the coin, whereas with many programs, they only get one.”
Community and patient education also is a part of some accreditations, including the Joint Commission’s heart failure certification.  “Not only do they look at outcomes, but also the education we provide to teach patients and the community about the risk factors and how to prevent heart disease,” said Cathy Carr, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer.   Venice Regional’s nurses also are pursuing certifications.  “Our nurses are going for certifications in a number of areas like critical care and progressive care,” said Sharon Cleveland, Director of Cardiology.  “They must have a certain number of patient care hours and pass an exam for their specialty.  Certifications mean nurses are better equipped to deliver care and understand what drives good outcomes.”
Venice Regional has made a strong financial commitment over the years in support of its cardiovascular program and to cardiac surgery in particular in 2011 when it made a substantial investment in robotic surgical technology with the purchase of the latest daVinci© Si™ Surgical System.   “The advantage of using the robot for the patient is that it is minimally invasive meaning small incisions with less scarring, lower blood loss so transfusions are less likely, shorter recovery times and less pain,” O’Brien said.  “From the physician’s standpoint, the robot has superior ability to maneuver in the body, magnification is better, the agility is more precise, and they can work sitting down, which means they can stay sharp with less fatigue.”
For Dr. Mateo Dayo, a cardiovascular surgeon with the Venice-Ocala Heart Institute, the daVinci robot provides a group of surgeons who are very experienced in traditional cardiovascular surgery with a better tool for doing the same surgeries through a smaller opening.  “It can give a better result because the visualization with the robot is so good.  It gives us 3D depth perception rather than the two dimensional image we have with laparoscopic surgery,” Dayo said.  “Depth perception is much better with 3D, and the 10 times magnification allows you to feel like your hand really is in the person’s chest or abdomen.  The learning curve is fairly steep but once you master it, the robot seems to disappear and you are just performing the surgery.”
Making the decision to do a minimally invasive surgery, utilizing the daVinci robot, is based on two key factors: safety being the first overarching criteria and achieving a good, long-lasting outcome is the other consideration.  Dayo calls the hospital administration’s willingness to support surgeons with the device a “wonderful situation” and says surgeons made the commitment to do the training and ensure there are capable surgeons who will assure the robot is well utilized.  “It’s a total team effort from the administration to the staff and physicians,” he said.
Other features of the newest evolution of the daVinci robot include surgical dexterity and precision far greater than the human hand, an updated and simpler user interface that enhances efficiency in the operating room, new ergonomic settings for greater surgeon comfort and an optional dual console that allows a second surgeon to provide assistance.
Dr. Victor Baga is Venice Regional’s most senior staff cardiologist and was instrumental in helping the hospital build a cardiology program.  He also sees the daVinci robot as an important milestone in the continued growth and evolution of the cardiology program.  “When I came here in 1975, there was not very much here.  The hospital didn’t even have a treadmill to perform a stress test,” Baga said.  “I have seen a lot in my 36 years in Venice.  This is a good place to practice, and the daVinci robot is a step forward.  We have to keep up with the times.”
Dr. Woolverton also is a staff cardiologist who has seen many changes in the hospital’s program since arriving in 1998.  “When I first got here, it was just a little community hospital with a diagnostic Cath Lab.  It was a diamond in the rough,” he said.  “Today, the community can be assured they’ll get the quality care they need right here.”
Pete Wozniak, Venice Regional’s Chief Executive Officer summed Venice Regional’s Cardiology program up best by saying, “Residents of Sarasota County are in the most capable hands when they step foot into Venice Regional.  Our exceptional physicians and nursing staff are top notch in every area, and that is evidenced by the awards and accolades we have received but is confirmed when we see patients traveling thousands of miles just to receive cardiac care at Venice Regional Medical Center.”