Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/976458
PATRONS | Spring 2018 17 Champions of the Heart Torrance Memorial and Cedars-Sinai team up to bring new hope to heart failure patients. WRITTEN BY MICHELLE ABT T orrance Memorial Medical Center is now partnering with the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai to provide the most comprehensive heart failure care in the South Bay. is affiliation formalizes what has been a growing collaboration over the last several years between the heart failure teams at both hospitals. e goal of the partnership is to provide advanced, life-saving treatment for even the sickest heart failure patients. Comprehensive Heart Failure Treatment, Right Here in South Bay More than five million Americans are living with heart failure, a progressive and chronic condition that significantly affects a person's quality and length of life. e good news is major advances in treatment—new medications and implantable devices, as well as catheter-based minimally invasive surgical procedures—have not only improved symptoms in people with heart failure but have also increased life expectancy. When combined with patient education and long-term follow-up care, these important breakthroughs offer hope for people at all stages of heart failure, helping them live longer, fuller lives. e staff of Torrance Memorial's heart failure program is committed to providing each patient with the most effective treatment plan, tailored to the severity of their condition, their overall health and their personal goals. e addition of Smidt Heart Institute experts to the heart failure team is an extension of that effort. One Team, Two Locations e congestive heart failure program at Torrance Memorial, under the guidance of Medical Director Mark Lurie, MD, is already one of the leading centers for treatment of heart failure in the area, offering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care. Directed by Program Coordinator Roxanna Balter, NP, the program uses a team approach that includes cardiologists, nurses, dieticians, pharmacists and case managers. In addition to medical care, patients and families receive important supportive services such as patient education, home visits and monitoring, and ongoing follow-up care. is comprehensive approach, along with access to the latest in medical treatment, helps patients manage their illness, stay out of the hospital and lead healthier lives. e Torrance Memorial affiliation with the Smidt Heart Institute builds upon that excellence, providing patients with the most advanced treatment options—all while still under the care of their Torrance Memorial physician. Experts from both hospitals make care decisions as a team, and communication with the patient and family is a primary focus. As Dr. Lurie explains, "e Torrance Memorial- Cedars-Sinai relationship is symbiotic. It really is one team in two locations." Michele Hamilton, MD, Cardiologist, Smidt Heart Ins tute and Mark Lurie, medical director of the Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular Ins tute collaborate to treat complex heart failure cases.