[August 5, 2010]
PRAIRIE HEART HAS SUCCESS WITH HOSPITAL TO HOME INITIATIVE
Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital recently implemented a Hospital to Home (H2H) program in which all patients discharged with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) or an Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack) are offered a follow-up visit with a registered nurse within one-to-two weeks after their hospitalization.
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[June 1, 2010]
ST. JOHN’S HEALTH CENTER - SOUTH 6TH STREET TO OPEN IN EARLY 2011
The 28,000 square foot facility will be the new home for St. John’s Sleep Center and St. John’s Center for Interventional Pain Management. The health center will also include space for cardiology clinics from Prairie Cardiovascular providers, HSHS Medical Group primary care physician and walk-in clinics, basic and advanced imaging, and lab services.
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[May 3, 2010]
SPRINGFIELD DIABETES AND ENDOCRINE CENTER JOINS HSHS MEDICAL GROUP
Headed by Norman Soler, MD, PhD, Springfield Diabetes & Endocrine Center (SDEC) specializes in state-of-the-art diabetes care, diabetes research and education.
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[February 1, 2010]
PRAIRIE HEART INSTITUTE CALLS ON PUBLIC TO PLEDGE AWARENESS ABOUT HEART ATTACK WARNING SIGNS
Despite the preconceived notion that a heart attack begins with a rapid and dramatic onset of debilitating chest pain, most heart attacks actually start slowly and in many cases a person may not be sure of what is happening. Because half of cardiac-related deaths occur within one hour, and outside of a hospital, it’s important to recognize the warning signs and act quickly.
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[January 21, 2010]
CELEBRITY CHEF ART SMITH SPECIAL GUEST FOR PRAIRIE HEART FAIR
The public is invited to attend Prairie Heart Institute’s (PHI) “Prairie Heart Fair,” on Saturday, February 13 at White Oaks Mall. Celebrity Chef and author Art Smith will be the special guest and conduct a cooking demonstration using heart healthy foods at 11 a.m. in the mall’s center court near the Macy’s wing.
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[November 16, 2009]
St. John's named a Top 100 Hospital again

St. John’s Hospital today was honored as one of the nation's Top 100 hospitals for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters. St. John’s was named as a Top 100 hospital in 2004 and 2000. St. John’s is one of six hospitals in the state to receive the designation this year, and the only hospital in central Illinois to earn the distinction.
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[September 21, 2009]
St. John’s Hospital receives American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR® ACTION Registry®–GWTGTM Gold Performance Achievement Award

Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital has received the American College of Cardiology Foundation’s NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG (Get With the Guidelines) Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2009 – one of only 121 hospitals nationwide to do so. The award recognizes Prairie Heart’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, and signifies that Prairie Heart has reached an aggressive goal of treating coronary artery disease patients with 85 percent compliance to core standard levels of care outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
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[July 20, 2009]
Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois launches new Congestive Heart Failure Toolkit
Program shares best practices, builds on success of St. John’s Hospital CHF program

Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois (PHII) is providing local hospitals in the PHII network with a new Congestive Heart Failure Toolkit that includes standardized protocols, patient teaching aids, staff training materials and methods to measure the comparative effectiveness of treatments for Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). (Read entire release)

[May 15, 2009]
Prairie Education and Research Cooperative Announces ALERTS Pivotal Study for Implantable Cardiac Monitor and Alert System

Ziad Issa, M.D., Prairie Education and Research Cooperative, and St. John’s Hospital, announced its participation in the ALERTS Pivotal US trial for the AngelMed Guardian implantable cardiac monitor and alert system. The system is designed to reduce the time it takes patients to get to the emergency room during an impending heart attack.(Read entire release)

[February 10, 2009]
Prairie Heart Institute adopts new miniature heart pump

Patients who have suffered a severe heart attack can now be supported at St. John’s Hospital through a minimally invasive procedure that assists the heart in maintaining blood flow to the body using a tiny motorized pump.(Read entire release)

[ February 4, 2009]
St. John's selects Dr. Charles Lucore as Executive Director of the Prairie Heart Institute

Charles L. Lucore, M.D, F.A.C.C., has been selected as Executive Director of the Prairie Heart Institute (PHI) at St. John’s Hospital. Dr. Lucore is a graduate of Colgate University and Duke University School of Medicine. He was a faculty member in the Department of Cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine prior to joining Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants in 1992. Since joining Prairie, Dr. Lucore has served as Co-director of the cardiac cath lab and Chairman of Cardiology at St. Johns Hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the Ethics and Discipline Committee. (Read entire release)

[ December 22, 2008 ]

Hospital Sisters Health System announced today that it is implementing a new project in Illinois and Wisconsin that is dedicated to extending the highest quality health care in a very integrated and effective manner that is more efficient and accessible for patients and their families.
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Prairie Heart Institute at St. John's Hospital has received the American College od Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2008 - one of only 93 hospitals nationwide to do so.
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Heart patients should be screened for depression - a common condition that can profoundly affect both prognosis and quality of life - according to the American Heart Association's first scientific statement on depression and coronary disease.
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A report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shows that the Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital had the best survival rate for heart attack patients in Illinois, and the 12th best survival rate in the U. S. during the period of July 2006 through June 2007.
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Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital is among the top 4 percent of heart centers in the nation for overall treatment of heart attack patients, according to the ACTION Registry ™, the largest and most comprehensive national cardiovascular patient database that measures performance in treating patients with acute coronary syndrome.
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Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital is among the top 4 percent of heart centers in the nation for overall treatment of heart attack patients, according to the ACTION Registry,™ the largest and most comprehensive national cardiovascular patient database that measures performance in treating patients with acute coronary syndrome.
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St. John's Hospital is the first hospital in the state to be awarded accreditation for its fetal echocardiography laboratory by the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Echocardiography Laboratories (ICAEL). Accreditation is voluntary and signifies that an institution has achieved the gold standard in quality for diagnosis of heart disease.
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The Center for Living at St. John's Hospital now offers integrative medicine services, an evolving form of health care that blends the power of Western medicine with the wisdom and practicality of complementary therapies such as acupuncture, meditation and yoga. The combination allows treatment of the whole person – body, mind and spirit – rather than just the disease. Integrative medicine can help alleviate stress, reduce pain and anxiety, manage symptoms, maintain strength and flexibility and promote a sense of well-being.
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Prairie Heart Institute at St. John's Hospital now offers patients enhanced access to the latest ultrasound imaging technology for use in the cardiac cath lab. The technology gives cardiologists a cross-sectional view of inside an artery, which allows them to more effectively treat coronary artery disease.
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Dr. Dove is known internationally, but his legacy is here in central Illinois where he created the largest heart program in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation. He is a founding partner of Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants and was instrumental in forming Prairie Heart Institute at St. John's Hospital in the early 1990s.
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Prairie Heart Institute is conducting ongoing local research to address the controversy over the safety of drug-coated stents – devices placed in arteries to keep them propped open.
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