Saturday Specialists

UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute offers weekend appointments

In less than two months of Saturday hours at UH Minoff Health Center, 90 new patients have taken advantage of access to UH Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute providers.

Appointments are available every Saturday from 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the health center just off I-271 in Orange Village, near UH Ahuja Medical Center. Patients have come not only from the east-side suburbs but towns near Youngstown, Sandusky and Akron/Canton.

Nearly one-third of patients have left with a scheduled cardiac test, including nuclear stress tests, echocardiograms, pacemaker insertions, ablations and other percutaneous and transluminal procedures.

“You’re seeing a specialty cardiologist on a Saturday – you can’t beat that,” said cardiologist and heart failure specialist Ravi Ramani, MD, Chief Quality Officer of the Harrington HVI and Clinical Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine.

The Saturday clinic is staffed by a rotation of general cardiovascular medicine, electrophysiology, heart failure, interventional cardiology and vascular medicine physicians, Dr. Ramani said.

Appointments can be made by any new patient or those not seen in 36 months who present with a new cardiology issue, such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, or an elevated calcium score, hypertension or cholesterol.

“Consumerism in health care is very real,” says Sara Rahmani, MS-HSM, Senior Administrator, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine for UH Harrington HVI, acknowledging that patients have choices. “As an organization and an institute, we want to show patients we will meet them where they are. That’s a differentiator for us.”

Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD, UH Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine and Chief Academic and Scientific Officer for Harrington HVI, said the Institute is adapting in post-pandemic times.

“The Post-COVID world is radically different,” Dr. Rajagopalan said. “Ultimately the ability to change with the times and adjust our practice to the new demands of the market is going to be critical.”

To refer a patient for a Saturday appointment with a UH Harrington HVI specialist at UH Minoff Health Center, call 216-844-3800.