Congratulations to 40 Under 40 Winner: Phillip John La Corte, COO, Heart Institute of East Texas PA
Get To Know Phillip:
Why is this candidate a good fit for 40 under 40?
Phillip LaCorte moved from a large metroplex to a rural community and helped do transformative care for a market which has been devastated by cardiovascular disease. As far as health ranking’s the communities rank in the bottom 10% of health outcomes and health factors. He received his master's in healthcare administrator and chose a path less taken and has been in the community for the last 8 years. He completed his leadership lufkin certificate the first year and built bridges with the community leaders to pave the way for the upcoming transformation. Phillip continued his studies, becoming certified healthcare quality certification through the CPHQ, achieved the SHRM Senior certified professional from SHRM-SCP, through the AAPC became a certified professional compliance officer and a certified physician practice manager. Phillip took the helm of Heart Institute of east Texas(HIET) and had Dedication to excellent care within the community and a patient-first mindset, as well as a commitment to bring cutting edge clinical care to patients served to HIET services 12 counties with a population of 350,000 in Deep East Texas. Phillip and the clinic’s motto, of the patient always comes first aligned perfectly. Secondly, to treat all patients equally regardless of payment type fit right at home. The Practice’s clinics create access to much needed cardiovascular care in these rural, underserved communities to HIET partnered with Boston Scientific for the last four years via the program “Close the Gap” to combat healthcare disparities. The Heart Institute have played an active role in community education especially in preventing cardiovascular diseases. During Heart month for the last 4 years we have performed over 30 educational events in that month alone including Several public education meetings were conducted at the Heart Institute of East Texas facility during the past several years. Heart Institute physicians also have conducted several seminars about prevention of cardiovascular disease at both hospitals, educating the physicians and nurses, as well as in the local community, including at the Women in Red Conference, Senior Citizens Place, Rotary Club, etc. The Heart institute has performed over 200 talks, educating thousands of lay publics on the advantages of preventive medicine. Heart Institute cardiologists have contributed significant free cardiac care for the indigent population at both hospitals and generously donated to several charitable organizations in Lufkin and Angelina County every year.
Explain this candidate’s professional accomplishments:
The Heart Institutes commitment to quality has earned our practice In 2019, the Texas Medical Foundation (“TMF”) awarded the TMF Physician Practice Quality Improvement Award from the Texas Medical Foundation (TMF). The Heart Institute of East Texas is among 32 health care providers out of over 3,600 in seven states to receive the Gold Level award. This award is based on the four categories of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System: Quality Measures, Promoting Interoperability, Improvement Activities and Cost/Utilization The ACC National Cardiovascular Data Registry’s (“NCDR”) partner, Veradigm Cardiology Registry (formerly PINNACLE Registry), recognized HIET’s contribution in providing registry data used to improve processes and procedures that establish high quality cardiovascular care. These processes have been adopted by over 8,500 providers in nearly 2,500 practice locations. have also received the Texas Forest Country “Small Business of the Year” award by Governor Abbott in 2017 and the Lufkin Chamber of Commerce “Small Business of the Year” award in 2017. Our approach to quality care has allowed us to attain 5 out of 5 stars for quality and cost in the past from (2013-2018). The Heart Institute was recently recognized by CMS QPP and Pinnacle for our quality scores and reporting. A considerable portion of the Heart Institute of East Texas' success is the ability to serve our patients with comprehensive testing and care all under one roof. Located onsite is an ICANL accredited nuclear department, ICAEL accredited echo department, CLIA accredited moderate complexity Lab diagnostic cath lab, rhythm clinic and the only accredited Cardiac Rehab between Houston and Tyler.
How does the candidate show commitment to the industry and bettering their professional career?
Phillip has been a true trailblazer and pioneer and has been life changing to the population of Deep East Texas building it into a medical hub that is now the leading industry in the market. In the last quarter century, I can think of no other person who has made a more significant impact on health in our regions. His accomplishments have greatly enriched the history of health care in our region forever and for this reason I’m nominating Phillip LaCorte, year. In 2018, and every year following, The Heart Institute of East Texas in partnership with St. Luke’s Health Memorial has achieved the prestigious designation as a “HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence” by the American College of Cardiology. In 2023, The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has recognized The Heart Institute of East Texas, for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients with Heart Failure. The Heart Institute of East Texas is one of the only two outpatient clinics in Texas and the 11th in the Nation to receive this prestigious Partner in Care Heart Failure Accreditation. Dr. Phillip Levy, chair of the ACC Accreditation management board, noted the following, “CHI St. Luke’s-Memorial is committed to ensure each patient that comes through their doors has access to consistent, highest-quality cardiovascular care.” MHSET received the PIONEER Award from ACC for being one of the first ten hospitals in the nation to receive this designation (first of the 103 CHI Hospitals, second in the state of Texas, and ninth in the nation). HIET and MHSET have maintained this prestigious recognition for the last five years (2018-2022) As of 2022, there remains only seven hospitals with this designation in the state of Texas and MHSET one of only two hospitals with this designation to also have four ACC accreditations in the state of Texas. This is commitment to the industry and to the betterment of challenging himself in his professional career.
