10 years of the Gill Affiliate Network: UK St. Claire

The Gill Heart & Vascular Institute Affiliate Network launched in 2014 to better connect community hospitals across the Commonwealth with the expertise and resources available at UK HealthCare. Throughout the year, UK HealthCare is celebrating the accomplishments of the 23 members who joined the Gill Affiliate Network (GAN) through 2024, in honor of the network’s 10th anniversary. 

UK St. Claire, located in Morehead, Ky., joined GAN in September 2022. The hospital system includes the largest rural hospital serving Northeastern Kentucky, seven primary care locations throughout five counties, two urgent care centers and a number of other facilities. In July 2024, St. Claire HealthCare — as it was formerly known — officially became part of the University of Kentucky.

What are key aspects of your cardiovascular program that people should know about?

We recently achieved Primary Heart Attack Center Accreditation by The Joint Commission. We have a cath lab and a new vascular lab with a surgeon new to UK St. Claire. Cardiac rehab is an ever-increasing part of the program as well. We recently hired out an additional interventional cardiologist, bringing our total to three, with more expansion planned. 

How has being a part of the Gill Affiliate Network influenced how you care for those in your community?

The support from GAN has been amazing. This support and continual availability gives us what we need to take our program to the highest level possible. Any questions we’ve asked have been answered by medical staff and any other experts at UK HealthCare as necessary. 

We’ve benefitted greatly from programs set up to help our team better understand statewide legislation that affects our patients. We’ve also taken advantage of frequent video calls with members of UK HealthCare’s cardiac rehab team, who have helped give us a more focused and streamlined approach to cardiovascular care. Since joining the network, we have seen an increase in the number of cardiac referrals.

Being part of GAN has taken our cardiovascular care program to the next level in a relatively short amount of time.

What are your program’s goals? What are you most looking forward to in the years to come?

Our primary goals are to continue to expand services and medical specialists, and to continue to initiate effective quality improvement measures.