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Cape Fear Valley Medical Center Affiliates With Cleveland Clinic
cape fear valley medical center, fayetteville, health care, heart and vascular center,
When Cape Fear Valley Medical Center officials were looking for a partner for its heart surgery program, they started at the top. The Fayetteville hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center opted to pursue affiliation with Cleveland Clinic, the nation’s top-rated heart center.
The affiliation was created in 2007, making Cape Fear Valley Medical Center only the fourth hospital in the United States to partner with the Ohio facility. The interest on Cleveland Clinic’s part was encouraging to officials in Fayetteville.
“They don’t partner with just anybody,” says Clinton Weaver, director of marketing and outreach at Cape Fear Valley. “When you’re the nation’s best, you’re protective of your reputation.”
The affiliation includes sharing of knowledge and the training of hospital personnel. Two local surgeons have been accredited by the Cleveland Clinic medical staff through the process.
The affiliation has paid immediate dividends. Mortality rates for patients who underwent open-heart surgery declined from 2.9 percent to .81 percent, well below the predicted rate of 2.31. The center also reduced the length of hospital stays following surgery from 6.9 days to 6.3 days.
