Fisher-Titus partnership with Cleveland Clinic heart doctors ending

NORWALK — The love affair between Fisher-Titus Medical Center and the Cleveland Clinic cardio care unit will apparently end with a broken heart.Fisher-Titus Medical Center said Tuesday it's ending its five-year relationship with the Cleveland Clinic Heart and Vascular Institute on Nov. 29.Fisher-Titus is exploring other options for its heart care and will announce future plans as soon as possible, Fisher-Titus CEO Matt Gross said.Neither Fisher-Titus nor the Cleveland Clinic responded to questions about why the partnership will end."As the healthcare world continues to change, we continuously assess our service lines and partnerships and make the necessary business decisions to ensure our long-term viability as local community health system," Gross said.But it's not the first change at the hospital's Snyder/White Heart & Vascular Center. It opened in 2008 with University to Toledo doctors, switched to North Ohio Heart doctors in 2010 and then went with Cleveland Clinics doctors in 2013.When Fisher-Titus announced the partnership in 2013, officials said local patients would get access to one of the most high-regarded heart care units in the world.Heart patients at Fisher-Titus may have longer drives if they want to keep their doctors."We understand the important relationships patients have formed with the Cleveland Clinic physicians who provide care at the Snyder/White Heart & Vascular Center," Gross said. "Patients can continue to see their Cleveland Clinic physicians in their offices at Fisher-Titus through Nov. 29, but will need to contact their providers for information regarding future physician services through Cleveland Clinic."The change doesn't impact Fisher-Titus' partnership with Cleveland Clinic-North Coast Cancer physicians who work at the Fisher-Titus Cancer Care Center in Norwalk. More than 4,000 patients got treatment at the center last year.The Cleveland Clinic Spine Surgery at Fisher-Titus affiliation ended in June."We had mutual discussions that led to this business decision," Fisher-Titus spokeswoman Johnna Young said. Meanwhile, Cleveland Clinic is sharing the news with its heart patients in the area."We have begun the process of communicating this update with our patients," spokeswoman Victoria Vinci wrote in an email to the Register."Cleveland Clinic cardiology services will be available in the community until November 29th, at which time our cardiologists will be relocated to other Cleveland Clinic locations. Patients in the Norwalk area can continue to see a Cleveland Clinic cardiologist at any Cleveland Clinic location moving forward," she wrote.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.Fisher-Titus Medical Center is ending its partnership with the Cleveland Clinic's heart care unit.