The Largest and Most Comprehensive Independent Cardiology Practice in the Midwest.
Our dedicated physicians and providers are looking forward to seeing you. Call (920) 886-9380 or click here to schedule an appointment with Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin.
If you wish to have your medical records transferred to us from another provider, hospital or physician, simply print, complete, then mail this form to our Appleton location and your records will be transferred to us.
Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin serves Northeast Wisconsin with a location on the west side of Appleton. We’re off College Avenue, near the Fox River Mall and Appleton International Airport.
For the past 50 years, the doctors of Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin have provided our patients with high quality, compassionate care.
As health care continues to evolve, we have made the decision to return to private practice so we may have more control over day-to-day operations and patient care decisions. We believe that serving you as an independent cardiology group, will bring you the best experience along with the highest quality care at a lower cost.
Effective April 1, 2019, we began treating patients in our new state-of-the-art facility. This is the new home of the same cardiologists that have been providing care to northeast Wisconsin since 1968. At the Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin we are able to provide diagnostic testing, labs and common, in-office procedures. We will continue to serve our outlying communities in New London, Ripon, Shawano, and Waupaca. Your cardiologist will also continue to provide services if you are admitted to a ThedaCare hospital or Ascension St. Elizabeth. At each hospital you must specifically ask for a Heart and Vascular cardiologist.
Let us reassure you that you will continue to receive the same exceptional care you have come to expect from us. We are excited about the ways this move allows us to improve your overall health care experience. Doing what is best for our patients will always remain our highest priority.
Heart and Vascular Institute of Wisconsin updated their business hours.
There's no other way to say it, but we are severely struggling to answer all incoming calls here at the Heart and Vascular Institute due to lack of call center staffing. It's a lethal combination of seeing a growth in the number of calls we are getting, some staff turnover, and the inability to find new employees for these positions.
I know we are not alone, as I hear from many other employers that they are having the same challenges in attracting similar roles in their organizations.
That national news says that there is the lowest unemployment rate in 40 years and that there are 2 unfilled jobs in American for every one person looking for a job.
All I know is that we advertise aggressively and simply do not get applicants. Or worse, we get people to agree to an interview and more often than not they don't bother to even show up for the interview.
I've even talked to 3rd party answering services to handle our overflow calls and they also don't have staff to take on this business.
I don't know where all the employees in America have gone, but they seem to have disappeared. I've never seen anything like it.
So if you are a Heart and Vascular patient and are trying to get through to us, I sincerely apologize. Here are some suggestions:
1) Mondays are always (emphasize always) our highest call volume day. Yesterday our practice had 1200 phone calls (a new record...). Thursdays and Fridays are better, except for late Friday afternoon as everyone seems to decide at the last minute they need a med refill for the weekend.
2) If you are a patient, sign up for our Patient Portal. You can communicate with us without having to call if you are on the Portal.
3) You can go to our website, and send us a message. I don't guarantee that these e-mails are checked every minute, and I strongly discourage you from using this method to communicate any personal health information or urgent symptoms, but it is a non-phone method to connect with us. You can also use this process to request we send you a link to sign up for the Patient Portal.
There you have it, our transparent truth. We are working hard to fix it, but there is not an immediate answer in sight.
Larry Sobal, CEO
What is the practice paying entry-level receptionists? I’m not privy to what you’re paying, nor implying it’s necessarily too little. However, it is the most likely factor. Unless your other benefits are amazing, if the position compensation is less than what similar jobs in the area are paying, it’ll be nearly impossible to find and retain quality people who are comfortable fielding phone calls from a clientele who are typically older and under stress due to their heart and vascular health concerns. In this job market, employees who hold customer service and retail positions (which historically were not compensated well in relation to their impact on a firm’s customer relations), know their worth. They will shop around and find better paying jobs until the market no longer has the demand. Thanks for being transparent about your issues and I hope you can attract and retain quality folks who are incentivized to build a long term career with your business.
It's because they are treated like dirt. I work in a clinic answering calls and I get screamed at by patients constantly, and it's for things I have no control over! I just put in my notice because the pay is not enough to compensate for the verbal abuse I take all day.
I work in the device clinic at HVI. I’d like to add that if you are trying to call us about a missed transmission and it’s routine/scheduled, we will know you missed it and will reach out to you in about 24 hours to troubleshoot, etc. You can save yourself the call and frustration. Otherwise, “no news is good news,” and you will receive a letter after transmissions are received and interpreted. I hope this helps during our call center shortage. I also communicate daily with patients in the portal and it’s very easy!
There's no position posted on your website, LinkedIn, or Indeed. (I stopped after those three.) Also, considering you've posted that the LPN pay is $17-$22/hr, the low wages you likely pay you call center employees would deter any applicants.
I feel for any employer who can't staff enough people. Just a thought, why not offer answering calls via remotely you might get more stay at home moms or dads. Secondly, hire people with disabilities..yes, I know people say they don't discriminate against people with disabilities but they do..I am living proof of that...
I usually go to the portal for questions or refill requests A lot easier than calling and faster response Heart and Vascular is the best
Thank you. We know your staff is doing their best! ❤️
I just went to your online website to look at the jobs to see how much it pays and there are no postings for a call center.
Thanks for just telling it like it is... It's a different world now.
Companies need to go back to in person applications. For years, companies have gone to online applications and applicants received no response on the job they applied for (I know, I was one of those people). Now the baby boomers have retired, kids are living with their parents after high school and are in no hurry to work or move out and be on their own. I heard on the news the number one cause of death for 18-40 year olds is fentanyl overdose. There’s your workforce gap. 😢
As HVI continues to grow more ever year with patients and having the best Cardiovascular care in the area. Some patients don’t know how many calls come in at the same time and have to wait until the next call center staff member is able to help. Sometimes call center staff are trying to reach Cardiologist nurses for symptoms or reactions. Every phone call is just as important as the next one. Thank you Larry for everything you do at HVI
I walked away from Corporate America this year due to extremely toxic work environmentsand poor leadership and vision...
Thanks for sharing. The heart and vascular Institute of Wisconsin is the best
Thank you for sharing this....all you can do is to continue to do your best...♥️
Larry, best of luck. We have very similar issues in Texas. Wish we had a solution, working day and night trying to get to our pts and do as much as humanly possible to provide care.
It would be helpful if you put existing appointments on the patient portal if that is possible.
Same problems all over. There should be no one on unemployment. Take a job people.
Thank you for communicating that to your patients! Much appreciated !
As a previous Medical Records Supervisor / Director, I understand the necessity to have staff. I’ve interviewed potential staff face to face, it’s nice to put a face with a name. You can also give a quick tour of your facility. I also had staff transcriptionists and coders work from home. Aside from your explanation here why don’t you post your job openings? I may be interested in an opening..
Maybe, if not for the hundreds and thousands of abortions over the last 50 years, there would not be a labor shortage!
Honesty is always appreciated and respected.
Thanks for the honesty and addresses the elephant in the room! Your company’s not alone in the problem
Thanks Larry! Best of luck. Unfortunately this isn’t going to change/improve overnight.
Agreed...unusual employment opportunities for the workers of "todays" times....money is the heart of it...
Thank you for letting us know.
- Monday8:00AM to 5:00PM
- Tuesday8:00AM to 5:00PM
- Wednesday8:00AM to 5:00PM
- Thursday8:00AM to 5:00PM
- Friday8:00AM to 4:00PM
- SaturdayClosed
- SundayClosed