For more information, contact:
Sarah Katz O'Hara, Palo Alto Medical Foundation
(650) 853-2965

Margie O'Clair, Mills-Peninsula Health Services
(650) 696-5303

JoAnn Roser, Physician Groups
(650) 366-0225

Palo Alto Medical Foundation Partners with Leading Cardiovascular Groups to Develop State-of-the-art Heart Facilities on the Peninsula

Palo Alto, Calif. -The Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF) and three leading cardiovascular physician groups based in Redwood City have agreed to work together to complete planning for a state-of-the-art cardiovascular program at PAMF's proposed new health care campus in San Carlos and Mills-Peninsula Health Services' new Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame.

The three groups - Pacific Coast Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons, Cardiovascular Medicine & Cardiac Arrythmias, and Cardiovascular Medicine & Coronary Interventions - have signed a letter of intent agreeing to further discussions with PAMF to develop integrated outpatient and inpatient cardiovascular services at the new San Carlos Center.

Pacific Coast Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons will also work with Mills-Peninsula Health Services to enhance cardiovascular surgical services at the planned new Peninsula Medical Center in Burlingame. The two-campus, integrated program would improve access to advanced medical and surgical cardiovascular care for patients in San Mateo County.

"Providing the highest-quality health care to the communities we serve is of utmost importance to us," PAMF President and CEO David Druker, M.D., said. "We believe working with these outstanding cardiovascular physician groups will allow us to develop the finest heart program possible."

PAMF is a not-for-profit organization that provides multi-specialty care to more than 500,000 patients in 20 clinical locations in the Peninsula, South Bay and Santa Cruz areas. It is an affiliate of Sutter Health, a not-for-profit, community-based health care network of Northern California physicians and hospitals. Mills-Peninsula, also a Sutter Health affiliate, has an acute care hospital in Burlingame and a comprehensive outpatient health center in San Mateo.

The three cardiovascular groups have practiced at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City for more than 20 years, caring for patients from throughout Northern California. In addition to providing general cardiovascular care, two of the groups focus on the subspecialties of coronary intervention and electrophysiology. The third group focuses on cardiovascular surgery, performing high-risk, high-skill operations on adults.

The groups have consistently been rated among the best cardiovascular providers in California. For the last two years, HealthGrades, an organization that grades the performance of health care providers nationwide, has ranked the three groups collectively as No. 1 in California in this category.

"Because we want to continue practicing at the highest level, we recognized that we needed to form a partnership that would provide visionary administrative leadership, strong financial backing and a robust primary care program," said Vincent Gaudiani, M.D., the senior cardiac surgeon at Pacific Coast Cardiac and Vascular Surgeons. "PAMF and Sutter Health already provide quality health care to millions of Californians and have a strong commitment to primary care, which helps us as specialists to better serve our patients.

"Perhaps most important, we have found in our discussions that we share values about patient care that will make our partnership a success," Dr. Gaudiani added.

Hardwin Mead, M.D., a cardiologist with the Cardiovascular Medicine & Cardiac Arrythmias group, said, "In the fields of interventional cardiology and electrophysiology, technology is evolving so rapidly that access to state-of-the-art facilities is vital for us to continue our decades-long tradition of providing advanced care. We are excited to have the opportunity to help design this program and to work with others who share our commitment to quality."

PAMF's proposed San Carlos Center would offer a wide range of physician, ancillary, educational, surgical, urgent care, critical care, emergency and inpatient services in a single, convenient location. PAMF is currently working with the City of San Carlos to finalize plans and obtain approval for the campus, slated to be located on an 18.5-acre site near the Holly Street/Highway 101 interchange. The campus would also be open to community physicians who are not affiliated with PAMF.

The new Peninsula Medical Center is expected to replace Mills-Peninsula's existing Burlingame hospital by 2010. "Our surgeons and cardiologists are excited about the chance to work with Dr. Gaudiani and his colleagues to plan new facilities and enhance our already-strong heart program," Robert Merwin, president and CEO of Mills-Peninsula, said.

South San Mateo County has seen a steady decline in access to physician services in recent years as medical groups have gone bankrupt and aging doctors have retired. Further, rapid advancements in medical technology and state-mandated seismic upgrades require the development of new inpatient facilities to replace obsolete hospitals throughout the area. The new Sutter-affiliated medical centers in San Carlos and Burlingame will meet these community needs with advanced services, expanded physician choice and efficient, integrated care, Dr. Druker said.