When a new mother visiting from London recently showed up at CentraState Healthcare System’s emergency room, all she knew was that she didn’t feel quite right.
Turns out, she had a life-threatening heart condition that in rare cases arises in breastfeeding moms. It required immediate care, which CentraState CEO and President Tom Scott said they were able to provide in record time.
“The irony of that is that she was scheduled to fly to London later that day,” Scott said. “If she had not come in to catch and treat that ailment, she probably wouldn’t be with us. That alone illustrates the importance of why we have (expanded) that service here. Because, in the past, we might not have been able to treat that ailment.”
As part of its overall strategic plan, Freehold-based CentraState has grown its cardiovascular program to provide a wider range of comprehensive cardiac care in Central Jersey. From Scott’s perspective — and as his anecdotes of patient success stories speak to — it’s paying dividends.
The growth of their program follows years of the hospital being restricted to operating as a low-risk cardiac catheterization laboratory. They couldn’t perform certain services due to existing regulations.
“People are already recognizing us as a preferred place to receive care. We’ve gotten a number of letters written by patients how grateful they are for cardiologists intervening (and conducting life-saving care).”
“(New Jersey was) one of two states that didn’t allow (full service) cardiac catheterization without on-site open-heart surgery,” Scott said. “The problem with that was one of the members of the community coming to us and saying, ‘Look, I don’t understand why I can’t have a procedure at CentraState. It’s the same physicians doing it at the other places, but I have to travel for it.’”
CentraState lobbied the state’s Department of Health and began working with legislators to open the door to increase their level of service. In the fall of 2022, they won approval to do emergency angioplasty, which is the use of balloon-like devices to open arteries. In the summer of 2023, they were approved to do those procedures on an elective basis.
Meanwhile, they also invested in an expansion of their cardiovascular intervention lab’s footprint, adding operating rooms. And they’ll need it to match increased patient volumes.
“Just to give an idea: In 2021, we were doing about 181 (cardiac catheterizations),” Scott said. “In the year that just finished up, we did 655. So, we more than tripled (our) volume.”
Scott’s take on those growth numbers? Remarkable.
“I don’t think you typically see that type of an increase that quickly,” he said. “I think it shows the rationale for why it’s important that even community hospitals have this service, especially given how the technology and care protocols have evolved in cardiology.”
After playing some catch up, CentraState’s leaders view their cardiac care program as approaching a market leader status — by the numbers as well as in the esteem of patients in their region.
“People are already recognizing us as a preferred place to receive care,” Scott said. “We’ve gotten a number of letters written by patients how grateful they are for cardiologists intervening (and conducting life-saving care).”
Conversation Starter
Reach CentraState Healthcare System at: centrastate.com or call 732-431-2000.
