Vanderbilt University Medical Center initiated and is leading the Tennessee Cardiac Surgery Consortium (TCSC), a new state-based collaborative that met for the first time in person on April 15.
The consortium is dedicated to improving cardiac surgery outcomes throughout Tennessee. Its mission involves fostering collaboration across various disciplines, drawing insights from successful statewide initiatives, and engaging with local communities to elevate surgical outcomes through data-driven strategies and exchange of best practices.
“This is the right moment,” said Ashish Shah, MD, professor and chair of Cardiac Surgery.
“We have strong health systems that care for these vulnerable patients, a group of experts who are involved in cardiovascular medicine, and in particular cardiac surgery. … It’s an opportunity to lead, and that’s why it’s worthy of our energy,” added Shah, who holds the Alfred Blalock Directorship in Cardiac Surgery.
The TCSC includes VUMC and all major health systems in Middle Tennessee as well as throughout the state in collaboration with the Tennessee Hospital Association (THA). Its membership is an interdisciplinary collaboration including nurses, physicians, cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists, perfusionists and advanced practice providers. The goal is to lead to better information-sharing among the centers, recognizing centers of excellence and adopting best practices.
Only four other states have such consortia, and they have driven quality improvements in cardiac surgery outcomes.
The TCSC’s inaugural spring meeting at the THA in Brentwood, Tennessee, featured presentations and panel discussions from physicians across health systems, including Ralph Alvarado, MD, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health, and keynote speaker Sen. Bill Frist, MD, former senator and founding director of the Vanderbilt Transplant Center.
“We have our work cut out for us in the state of Tennessee,” said Brian Lima, MD, MBA, associate professor of Clinical Cardiac Surgery.
He noted that Tennessee is ranked 45th out of 50 states in cardiovascular disease. Just shy of one-half million people have coronary artery disease, “a pretty staggering figure,” Lima said.
Tennessee also has one of the top five mortality rates attributable to heart disease in the United States, with 218 deaths per 100,000 residents compared to the national average of 74 deaths per 100,000 residents. And those were just some of the statistics he shared.
“Tennessee is a vulnerable population,” he said. “They need us. They need us to continue delivering state-of-the-art care.
“But all challenges represent opportunities, and the opportunity here,” he continued, “is a big first step toward coming together, learning from one another. There is no doubt in my mind that we can, and we will continually improve our capacity to deliver the highest level of cardiac surgery.”
Alvarado shared his story as a longtime physician and state senator in Kentucky who became Tennessee’s health commissioner in 2022 and his public health efforts since. He has given his endorsement to the consortium and praised the group for contributing to public health.
“Public health and medicine have been two of the largest forces for good in human history, bar none,” Alvarado said. “And because of the work of those in this room, our years have really had greater quantity and greater quality.”
In his keynote address, Frist reminded the group of Tennessee’s proud history of innovation in cardiac surgery, with figures such as Vivien Thomas, who played a major role along with surgeon Alfred Blalock, MD, in groundbreaking experimental work at Vanderbilt in the 1940s that led to new interventions.
Frist, who endorsed the new group, spoke to its potential, working across health systems to use data to drive quality and value.
“No individual center can do that,” he said. “It really does take the collective.”
The event was planned by a multidisciplinary group, including Lima, Connie Boyd, administrative officer for Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Surgery; Kaitlyn Brennan, DO, MPH, assistant professor of Anesthesiology; Becky Kiern, MA, RN, patient experience and quality lead; and Jessica Williams, MSN, APRN, CVICU clinical nurse specialist.
“This inaugural meeting is just a start for what’s to come for the TCSC,” Williams said. “We look forward to its growth and impact on cardiac surgery patient care in Tennessee.”
