The Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute is expanding its reach to include the New York metropolitan area, home to nearly 20 million people, through a unique alliance with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, which has 17 hospitals and more than 400 outpatient physician practices in the New York region.

Through the alliance, North Shore-LIJ becomes only the second health system in the nation to become a member of Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute network. The MedStar Heart Institute in Washington, D.C.,  became an alliance member last year.

The Cleveland Clinic has built a name for itself as the leading provider of cardiovascular care. U.S. News & World Report has ranked it as No. 1 in the United States in heart care since 1995. In addition, its program of offering major employers the option of having an employee’s cardiovascular treatment provided for a set all-inclusive fee at one its hospitals has been popular with major corporations, including Boeing and Walmart.

However, a natural limitation has been geographic. Being based in Cleveland, Ohio, means long-distance travel for many patients. In addition, the Cleveland Clinic must make sure that the set fees for cardiovascular care it offers direct to employers are low enough that corporate partners will not blink at also covering their employees’ travel expenses.

According to the joint announcement from the Cleveland Clinic and North Shore-LIJ, before forming the alliance, the Cleveland Clinic conducted a year-long, operational assessment of North Shore’s cardiology, cardiac surgery and electrophysiology programs, including an analysis of operating rooms, intensive care units, work flows, policies and procedures, mortality rates, imaging capabilities and other services. Data collection abilities was also important as to offer employers set fees for a specific menu of cardiovascular services requires operating a bit like an insurance company with a careful handle on risk assessment.

“As the delivery of healthcare continues to evolve and medicine moves from an art to a science, it’s crucial that healthcare organizations maintain databases to track clinical measures and quality standards,” stated Toby Cosgrove, M.D., president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, in the press release. “This new alliance is an opportunity to work closely with an organization that, like Cleveland Clinic, uses measurable, objective data to enhance patient care and safety.”

The two health systems have worked together since 2012, when North Shore-LIJ joined Cleveland Clinic’s Innovation Alliance — a special program that aims to "enhance the discovery, development, deployment and commercialization of new technologies originating from North Shore-LIJ’s clinical facilities and the health system’s Feinstein Institute for Medical Research."