Northwestern Medicine Palos Hospital will now be home to the new Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute Outpatient Cardiology Clinic. Opening to patients on December 14, the clinic will feature 16 exam rooms — with two designed as “Clinic of the Future” models — one consult room, and dedicated clinician workspaces. An expanded cardiac diagnostics area, scheduled to open in early 2023, will offer heart failure and echocardiography rooms for cardiac testing procedures.
“The new outpatient clinic is the latest example of Northwestern Medicine’s commitment to provide outstanding clinical care close to where people live and work,” said R. Kannan Mutharasan, MD, medical director of Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Palos Hospital. “The opportunity for our clinicians to work together in a modern environment enhances collaboration and is more convenient for patients who may need to see more than one specialist or require frequent testing.”
The clinic is located in suite 1520 on the first floor of Palos Hospital at 12251 South 80th Avenue in Palos Heights. It will provide dedicated clinical space for 12 physicians and six advanced practice nurses, including general cardiologists, interventional cardiologists, cardiac electrophysiologists, heart failure specialists and cardiac surgeons. General cardiology will also continue to be available at Northwestern Medicine Orland Park, located at 15300 West Avenue, Suite 23, Orland Park.
Since launching at Palos Hospital in October 2021, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute has introduced new cardiology services in the region, including CardioMEMS™, a device to monitor patients with heart failure, and the Shockwave system to treat calcified coronary arteries. Northwestern Medicine Cardiac Surgeon Andrei Churyla, MD, recently joined Palos Hospital to offer more advanced cardiac surgeries, such as total thoracoscopic maze for atrial fibrillation.
“Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is dedicated to improving heart care by pioneering advanced treatments, performing groundbreaking clinical research, and incorporating innovative technology and artificial intelligence into clinical practice,” said Patrick M. McCarthy, MD, executive director of Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and vice president of Clinical Integration for Northwestern Medical Group. “We are excited to expand this vision to the south suburbs with talented cardiologists and surgeons who are seeing patients at the new clinic at Palos Hospital.”
Two exam rooms are outfitted with large wall-mounted screens that face the clinician and patient for interactive visuals. Additional advancements planned in the coming months include ambient listening devices (with patient consent) that will test the ability to create clinician-facing documentation for the visit, generate orders and display patient-facing instructions. The concept may also test integration with patient wearables, such as a heart rate or blood pressure monitors.
“The ‘Clinic of the Future’ is about more than just the technology,” said Dr. Mutharasan. “It’s about connecting the patient and the clinician to humanize health care."
The new technology can enhance the overall patient experience and create a more coordinated plan of care, such as creating a seamless check-in, automating some nursing tasks, and improving the availability and accuracy of information.
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is an innovative powerhouse in developing the latest safest advances in cardiovascular care. Anchored in downtown Chicago, it has expanded and integrated into nine Northwestern Medicine hospitals. Consistently recognized as one of the top cardiology and cardiac surgery programs in the country, Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Memorial Hospital is ranked the No. 8 Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Program in the country by U.S. News & World Report, 2022 – 2023, in the annual “America’s Best Hospitals” rankings.
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