PA hospital system signs deal with Cleveland Clinic

Erie PA's St. Vincent Health Center says it has reached a clinical affiliation agreement with Cleveland Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute. The affiliation, which St. Vincent said takes effect Dec. 1, gives heart patients at the Erie hospital's Heart and Vascular Center access to Cleveland Clinics advanced research, technology and techniques. St. Vincent will pay Cleveland Clinic for the right to use its name in marketing and for access to its clinical services. Cleveland Clinic has one of the nation's top-rated heart programs.