Dameron Hospital, a 200-plus-bed hospital in Stockton, Calif., partnered with Stanford (Calif.) Health Care Oct. 5 to improve its cardiothoracic surgery program, according to Recordnet.com.
Dameron Hospital President and CEO Lorraine P. Auerbach said Thursday the partnership represents an attempt to "reboot" the hospital's heart surgery program.
"We are looking to reinvigorate our program and re-energize it with younger folks," Ms. Auerbach said. "A good 20 [percent] to 30 percent of our population leaves our community for their healthcare [needs]. So with people leaving and an aging population, we needed to solve this issue for our local community."
As part of the agreement, Stanford physicians will join Dameron Hospital staff to provide improved cardiothoracic care. Eric Keyser, MD, a clinical assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford, will lead the program at Dameron.
Stanford physicians will also be able to engage with patients at the hospital via telemedicine consultations, the report states.