Affinity Health System opens pacemaker clinics
Seven pacemaker clinics located throughout northeast Wisconsin.
01 / 27 / 2006
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Maria Nelson, Media Relations
Affinity Health System
(920) 720-1752
(920) 554-0686 (pager)
MENASHA, Wis. – The Affinity Heart & Lung Center is opening seven pacemaker clinics throughout the Fox River Valley and East Central Wisconsin.
The clinics are designed to provide regular, ongoing follow-up with patients once a cardiac pacemaker or internal defibrillator has been permanently implanted. The clinics will also provide educational resources and reassurances to pacemaker patients and their families. The clinics will schedule periodic evaluations with pacemaker patients to ensure the device continues to function at peak performance.
The frequency of evaluations will be decided by individual needs, the age and type of pacemaker, and the recommendations of the cardiologist. These check-ups will be done through visits to the clinic, as well as transtelephonic monitoring. “Transtelephonic monitoring allows the pacemaker check to occur in the comfort of a patient’s home, using a specialized telephone transmitter that relays important pacemaker information to the Heart & Lung Center for interpretation,” said Mary Haasl, clinical pacemaker nurse for the Affinity Heart & Lung Center.
Affinity Heart & Lung Center pacemaker clinics are opening at the Affinity Heart & Lung Centers at Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh, and St. Elizabeth Hospital, Appleton; the Affinity Heart & Lung Center at Ripon Medical Center; Calumet Medical Center and Berlin Hospital; and Affinity Medical Group clinics in New London and Neenah. The clinics will be staffed by professionals who specialize in analyzing pacemaker performance.
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For the Editor:
Affinity Health System, a faith-based regional health care network, is the Fox Valley’s second-largest employer, according to the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry. For the fourth consecutive year, Affinity has been named one of the nation’s top 64 health systems based on clinical performance according to Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of information and solutions to improve the cost and quality of health care. For ten consecutive years, Affinity Health System has been named to the SDI (formerly Verispan) Integrated Health Network Top 100, an annual assessment of the 100 most highly integrated health care networks in the nation. Both St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton and Mercy Medical Center in Oshkosh rank among the top 1 percent of hospitals nationwide in terms of quality and efficiency, as determined by the 2007 Premier | CareScience Select practice National Quality Award. Members of Affinity include Mercy Medical Center and Mercy Health Foundation, Oshkosh; St. Elizabeth Hospital and the St. Elizabeth Hospital Foundation, Appleton; Affinity Medical Group, a regional network of 25 family practice and specialty clinics – 22 of which are recognized as NCQA Level III medical homes, the highest level of recognition – in 14 communities; Calumet Medical Center, Chilton; and Affinity Occupational Health.