Heart & Vascular Institute

The Mission of the MHP Regional Heart & Vascular Institute

The Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute brings technologically advanced cardiac and vascular care to the residents of Muskegon and surrounding areas in West Michigan. The Institute offers a complete continuum of coordinated care, from prevention and diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation - including open heart surgery.

All services are easily accessible on the Mercy Campus, conveniently located off U.S. 31 at the Sherman Boulevard exit. Services include:

• A rapidly expanding open-heart surgery program.
• A highly dedicated team of cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons; nurses; technicians; and a support staff with advanced training.
• A Chest Pain Service for immediate evaluation and initial treatment of chest pain.
• Invasive and noninvasive diagnostic and treatment procedures, such as arterial and venous imaging, thrombolytic therapy, cardiac and vascular angiograms, angioplasties, atherectomies, stents and pacemaker implants.
• Customized inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation programs, phases I through III.
• A Physician Response Center to provide constant communication with referring physicians regarding the progress of their patients and to return patients to the care of their referring physicians as soon as possible.
• A Healthy Lifestyle Program to provide medically based health and wellness education programs to help prevent cardiac and vascular disease.

The team approach keeps referring providers informed

From diagnosis to rehabilitation and beyond, a collaborative team carefully plans and manages each patient’s care. The referring provider is an important part of the team. So Mercy Health Partners’ Physician Response Center staff work hard to keep referring providers up-to-date on their patients’ status. Referring providers receive:

• Preliminary admission and discharge reports
• Status change information
• Reports on outpatient surgery
• Test results
• Admission/billing sheets
• Other patient information as requested

Patients feel more comfortable knowing that their own provider is involved. And collaborative efforts with referring providers help create the highest level of patient care possible.

Quality patient care is more than advanced technology

The protocols of the Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute emphasize the highest quality of patient care. These protocols are carried out by a prestigious team of:

• Board-certified or eligible cardiologists, cardiothoracic and vascular surgeons, and anesthesiologists
• Certified clinical perfusionists
• Specialized registered nurses
• Registered technicians
• Respiratory therapists
• An exercise physiologist
• A registered dietitian
• A support staff with advanced training in cardiac and vascular areas

The Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute team realizes how important it is for patients and their families to know what is happening before, during and after procedures. So a cardiac or vascular case manager talks to patients and their families to help them understand.

Social workers are also available to arrange for medication, home care, transportation to and from rehabilitation, and to help with other necessities after discharge.

Commitment begins with prevention

The Healthy Lifestyle Program reflects Mercy’s deep commitment to disease prevention. This program offers services ranging from those that identify levels of risk factors, to those that teach people how to prevent or lessen the impact of cardiovascular and other diseases:

• Nutrition and weight control counseling
• Smoking cessation classes
• Blood pressure, cholesterol and lipid screenings
• Stress management, yoga and relaxation training
• Fitness training from beginner to advanced levels
• Self-discovery and wellness
• Cardiac education
• Substance use assessment and treatment

Heart-care professionals develop programs specifically adapted to people’s needs. They also design Healthy Lifestyles Program packages to help any company promote wellness among employees and decrease sick days and insurance costs.

Immediate care saves lives

The first 60 minutes of a heart attack is the “golden hour” when lives and hearts can be saved. Clot-busting thrombolytic agents administered quickly can reduce or eliminate heart damage.

So the Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute developed a system through Mercy Health Partner's Emergency Center especially for patients experiencing chest pain. The Chest Pain Service medical professionals encourage anyone with chest pain to seek help, without fear of embarrassment.

The Chest Pain Service physicians and other Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute staff are available 24-hours a day, seven days a week, to provide quick diagnosis, observation services and initial treatment of heart attack symptoms.

In addition, open-heart surgical suites, cardiac and vascular laboratories and intensive care units are all conveniently located nearby for quick, easy access from the Chest Pain Service when necessary.

Because information is one of the best defenses against heart disease, the Chest Pain Service offers speakers to talk to community or business groups about heart disease and the symptoms of heart attack.

State-of-the-art facilities enhance medical capabilities

The Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute encompasses extensively equipped facilities and a vast array of capabilities:

• A nationally accredited vascular laboratory for noninvasive diagnoses of arterial and venous diseases.
• Recently updated echocardiography equipment for noninvasive diagnoses of cardiac diseases.
• A digital imaging cardiac catheterization laboratory and specially equipped radiology room for invasive detection and analysis of cardiovascular problems, using such procedures as angiography and cardiac catheterization.
• The latest technology for invasive treatment such as cardiac and peripheral vascular angioplasties, atherectomies, stents, pacemaker implantations and thrombolytic therapy.
• Two surgical suites exclusively designed for open-heart procedures such as coronary artery bypass grafts and valve replacements and repairs, complete with heart-lung machines and other circulatory support devices.
• Twenty-five intensive care beds thoroughly equipped to meet the needs of patients recovering from open-heart procedures.
• Support through education and/or home health services for patients once they return home.
• A specially equipped center for cardiac, vascular and pulmonary rehabilitation, offering a bright, cheerful, climate-controlled environment, state-of-the-art therapeutic equipment and monitoring systems, complete with indoor and outdoor tracks, and locker rooms.

For more information

For more information about the Mercy Regional Heart & Vascular Institute and services available, please call or write: P. O. Box 358, Muskegon, MI 49443, (231) 672-3893.

Return to the Heart & Vascular Institute

Mercy Health Partners HEART Center (Cardiac/Pulmonary Rehabilitation)
1212 Sherman Boulevard • Muskegon, MI 49443 • (231) 672-3648