The health of the local health care community just keeps improving.

The latest advancement on that front was revealed Tuesday when officials of Stormont-Vail HealthCare and the world-renown Mayo Clinic, based in Rochester, Minn., announced they had entered a partnership that will give local physicians access to the clinics physicians for consultations.

Through the partnership, local physicians will be able to send a patients relevant medical records and images, through secure connections, to specialists at the Mayo Clinic and ask questions about the patients condition and treatment options. Responses from the consulting specialist should be received within 48 hours.

Randy Peterson, president and CEO of Stormont-Vail, said the arrangement decreases the odds patients will have to travel for consultations and care.

Obviously, the connection with Mayo Clinic and its specialists will benefit Stormont-Vail, its patients and northeast Kansas. The development is the latest evidence the local health care community is being aggressive in its attempts to ensure patients receive the best possible care close to home.

Earlier developments include participation by Stormont-Vail and St. Francis Health, which cheered Stormont-Vails partnership with Mayo Clinic, in regional health care organizations and research partnerships with The University of Kansas Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute facility.

Although the primary goal always is to improve research and patient care, such things reflect well on Topekas hospitals and the community. The latest edition of Consumer Reports gave Stormont-Vail a very good rating among the nations hospitals.

Stormont-Vails place among the Mayo Clinic Care Network wasnt earned easily, however. David Hayes, medical director of the care network, said hospital and clinic officials worked for 10 to 12 months to establish the partnership, the first of its kind in Kansas.

Hayes said the application process includes four stages during which potential partners have to show they provide quality care and put the patient first, which required visits to Stormont-Vail by Mayo Clinic officials.

In addition to the consulting service, the partnership gives Stormont-Vail physicians access to AskMayoExperts, an online tool that offers information about disease management, treatment and clinical care.

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Editorial: Local health care community takes another big step