Top 10 Heart Center Questions Answered

1. Where is the Heart Center of Greater Waterbury?

It is located at both Saint Mary’s Hospital and Waterbury Hospital. It will not be housed in its own building like the Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center.

2. In an emergency, will I be able to choose which hospital I go to?

You or your family members will be able to choose which hospital you use for advanced cardiac care. Both hospitals will offer the same services. In an emergency, an ambulance company will most likely take you to the nearest of the two hospitals.

3. Will my physician treat me at either hospital?

Yes, all of the cardiologists and surgeons will have privileges at both hospitals and can all treat their patients at both locations.

4. What clinical services will be available at the hospitals?

The Heart Center will offer a complete continuum of cardiac care — from education and diagnosis to treatment to rehabilitation. In addition to angioplasty and open-heart surgery, the center will offer everything from EKG and stress tests to catheterizations and pacemaker implants.

5. What is UConn's role in this?

The University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington began working hand-in-hand with Saint Mary’s Hospital and Waterbury Hospital in 2003 to bring advanced cardiac care to the region. Having started a heart program approximately 10 years ago, UConn utilized its expertise as a teaching institution to provide guidance and support, providing the hospitals with the training and expertise necessary to get the Heart Center up and running. When the program is underway, UConn’s advisory role continues. In addition, UConn is providing the Heart Center with its cardiothoracic surgeons and perfusionists, the professionals who monitor the heart-lung machines during open-heart surgery. UConn also provides quality oversight via the Heart Center’s Advisory Board.

6. How can I be sure of the best treatment and care?

All of the Heart Center’s physicians have a proven track record of success. Most have been providing these services outside of Waterbury for decades; the only difference is that now they can offer their services in Waterbury.

7. Who are the doctors affiliated with the Heart Center?

There are more than a dozen cardiologists from six practices affiliated with the Heart Center. Cardiology Associates of Waterbury and Quality Cardiovascular Care are providing the Heart Center with its interventionalists. The medical director is Dr. Henry Borkowski.

The surgeons are joining us from their established practice at Connecticut Cardiothoracic Surgical Associates. Currently providing these services at John Dempsey Hospital and Hartford Hospital, the surgeons will soon be able to provide this much needed treatment in the city of Waterbury.

8. Will there be other services offered through the Heart Center?

In addition to all the testing, treatments and rehabilitative services available, the Heart Center has hired a full-time clinical nurse specialist to handle community outreach and education around Greater Waterbury.

9. What exactly is the One-Stop Post-Operative Care Model?

It’s an eight-bed dedicated cardiovascular unit at each hospital with all the equipment and staffing necessary to meet the needs of a patient and their family throughout their entire stay.
One-Stop Post Op patients will experience faster intervention for complications and have been shown to have shorter hospital stays than those using a transitional model where patients are moved to different rooms during their stay.

10. When will the Heart Center be open?
Plans for the opening of the Heart Center are well underway. Its services will be available in Greater Waterbury by midsummer.

11. How will the center benefit patients in Greater Waterbury?
The standard of care for those suffering from coronary artery disease in the state’s other large cities includes an array of cardiac services — from diagnosis through rehabilitation — that are close to family and other community support. Those patients also have full and easy access to their primary care physicians, cardiologists and other specialist physicians.

The Heart Center of Greater Waterbury aims to provide that same benefit to the population of approximately 380,000 people living in Waterbury and the surrounding towns of Beacon Falls, Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Morris, Naugatuck, Oxford, Plymouth, Prospect, Roxbury, Seymour, Southbury, Thomaston, Torrington, Washington, Watertown, Wolcott and Woodbury.

Studies have shown that time is the most important factor in saving heart muscle during a cardiac emergency. The less time elapsed from the onset of symptoms until the beginning of treatment, the greater a patient’s chances of minimizing permanent damage to heart muscle, and of surviving. The Heart Center of Greater Waterbury will make it possible for patients to get the best care possible sooner, while staying close to home.