Cardiovascular group leaving Morris Hospital

Morris Hospital has lost one of its cardiovascular groups, but the reasons why seem to vary per person involved.

Heart Care Centers of Illinois (HCCI) is closing its Morris office and will no longer service Morris Hospital and Healthcare Centers. The group has submitted a "leave of absence" with the hospital for an unknown amount of time. The office has moved to Springfield Avenue in Joliet and will be working with Joliet hospitals.

Dr. George Aziz was the cardiologist from this group that worked at Morris Hospital daily. His last day at Morris Hospital was Wednesday.

"Myself and my practice were recruited to come to Morris to practice in 2005. We've maintained a presence in Morris since then," Aziz said. "In that time period, we have had the opportunity to build up a good reputation and a very good patient base at Morris Hospital."

About a year ago, Aziz brought some concerns he wanted addressed to the administration, but said he never received any response.

"There were some financial issues, a lot of clinical problems and management issues," said Aziz, who said he could not share any more details because he is in discussions with legal counsel pending a lawsuit.

"The logical conclusion was for us to leave," he said. "Emotionally, it is very difficult to do this and I do it with extreme regret. I hate to use such strong words, but we were forced to leave."

But a more senior member of HCCI denies any controversy and said the group left Morris simply because it had outgrown its office.

"There are no scandals here," said Dr. Joseph Stella, who called Aziz's statements "not accurate."

Stella said HCCI's Morris office is moving to Joliet, where it is larger and they will be able to provide a broader spectrum of care through the hospitals that have a well-established program.

"We feel the nursing and ancillary staff at Morris Hospital is excellent," he continued. "They do a very good job of taking care of patients, and we will miss interacting with them."

The hospital administration would not comment on what reason they were given for HCCI leaving, stating that was the cardiovascular group's question to answer.

"The most I can say is we certainly regret any time a physician leaves the hospital, for that matter when any employee or patient leaves, especially if they feel it wasn't handled to their satisfaction," said Mark Steadham, CEO and president of Morris Hospital.

"Our goal is to work collaboratively with our medical staff to make Morris Hospital a great place to practice," he said.

The hospital is very sorry to see Dr. Aziz and the HCCI group leave the community, Steadham said, but they did try to get them to stay.

"In the last several weeks, we've reached out to Dr. Aziz and HCCI and asked them to stay in the community," Steadham said. "However, they decided to continue with their plans to leave Morris and have taken a leave of absence with the hospital's medical staff."

He said their partnership will be missed.

"Especially Dr. Aziz, who was the group's full-time cardiologist at Morris Hospital," Steadham said. "Dr. Aziz is an excellent, well respected physician. He'll be greatly missed at Morris Hospital and the community."

'A RED FLAG'

There may be differences in what is being said as far as the reasons for the separation, but one employee of the cardiovascular department says it is not simple.

"We've lost now two really great physicians in our community," said Martha Shugart, registered nurse in cardiovascular services at Morris Hospital. "That is a red flag for me. These are really great caregivers and that has a big impact."

Shugart is referring to Aziz and former Emergency Room doctor, Dr. Robert Benjamin Johnston, who in a lawsuit named the hospital, Steadham, Dr. Ari De La Hera, president of the hospital's medical staff and cardiologist with the hospital's other group — Heartland Cardiovascular Center, in a defamation and civil conspiracy lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2011, and on Feb. 14, 2012, a judge granted the defendants' motion to dismiss. Johnston was given 29 days to replead.

"I don't think they are related in anyway," Steadham said. "Dr. Johnston is on leave of absence, and I don't know what his plans are for retuning to Morris."

Steadham continued that Morris Hospital does not have a high turnover rate of physicians and is actively recruiting more doctors.

"We've had a number join in recent years and some have left for different reasons," Steadham said. "In the last couple of years, there has certainly been a net increase."

As Aziz departed Wednesday, tears were shed by staff members, Shugart said. Not only because he was great to work with, but because they fear what this means for the community.

"They feel for their patients, they feel for the quality of care because (Dr. Aziz) has had such a great role here," she said. "We're talking about America's number one killer here (heart disease.)"

For such a small community, a lot of the hospital's patients suffer from heart disease, she said.

"So many patients don't know what to do now. They have to leave Morris Hospital for care because they want to stay with their doctor," Shugart said. "Dr. Aziz has a very big following. The staff was in tears as he was leaving. I don't think the administration did everything they could to keep him here."

Stella could not say how many patients from Morris HCCI has, but he said it was thousands. Their office is encouraging patients to stay with them and to travel to Joliet.

Morris Hospital is still an option for those who do not want to travel, Steadham said. Despite the loss of HCCI, Morris Hospital is still equipped and capable to handle cardiovascular emergencies.

All cardiovascular services will continue to be provided, Steadham said, the only change is HCCI doctors will not be present there and cannot admit to the hospital. The Heartland Cardiovascular Center group is still with Morris Hospital and has been for about 20 years.

"We're working with Heartland Cardiovascular Center for 24/7, 365 (day) coverage for our emergent cardiovascular cases, so the community can be assured we're providing life saving cardiovascular care," he said.

The hospital board and administrators agree Morris needs more full-time cardiologists and are looking into future opportunities for cardiovascular services. Steadham said the goal is to give the community convenient access to the highest quality of care that result in the best of outcomes.

To find a listing of cardiologists still at Morris Hospital, visit www.morrishospital.org and use the "find a healthcare provider" tool. For more information on Heart Care Centers of Illinois, visit www.heartcc.com.