I was living in Roseville at the time of my surgery so admittedly, much easier access to Regions than coming from the west of TC. Having said that, there really was not much of the follow up care that required travel to Regions. If I recall correctly, my first appointment after the surgery was with my GP ( within 7 days post op, to check on scar healing and my general health, my GP was not to happy about it as she did not feel she had much expertise in assessing surgical wounds of such a magnitude, she ended up taking photos and emailing them to the surgical team to double check). The first appointments at Regions, surgical and cardio follow ups, were at 4w post op. I had them scheduled on the same day so just one trip.
I did develop mild AFib and had to go back to get the monitor, etc, but all in all, there were surprisingly few appointments post op at Regions.
My echocardiograms were done at one of the Health Partners location that was the most convenient for me, CT-Scan was at Regions ( I am now at once every 5y schedule for CT, yearly for the echo)
Seen the cardio at Regions initially, then at one of the HP clinics where she was seeing patients - again, out of convenience.
I had a choice re cardiac rehab locations, Regions had several to chose from, went for the one with the easiest access from Roseville at that time ( on University which was next to my GP’s location)

My diagnosis was sudden, the surgery followed soon after. I also considered going to Mayo, but I had 3 school age kids at home ( plus an exchange student!) back then and was worried about logistics. Meeting with dr.Kroshus was very reassuring to me and so I decided to stick with Regions. Really, no regrets.

Ultimately, if you have time/option to chose you should try to find what works best for you and where you feel comfortable and safe.
The team at Regions works well and close together, I felt I was well taken care of while there.

I spent 5 days at the hospital, the staff was superb.

Back at home, my absolute life saver was an old Ekorness recliner with an ottoman. I slept in it for a couple of months after the surgery.

The few things that I wish were done better:

****the dietary info provided to patients starting on Warfarin. I got the usual sweeping statement “stay clear of leafy greens” and bunch of print outs. I had to educate myself a lot about Warfarin and how to balance one’s diet while on it.
****more info about the scar care, especially once it is closed and free of scab. There is lots of tension around the incision, I wish I were told about different massage techniques and extra treatments that could help with healing, scarring, prevention of keloids, etc.

Also, my cardio affiliated with Regions was not very supportive regarding the idea of self testing INR as opposed to the usual “see you in 4 -6 w” schedule at the clinic. I think home testing should be encouraged and supported for patients capable/willing to do it - much like diabetics do.
Once the INR is stable, patients should have the option of self-testing at home with the the once a month or so “control check up” at the clinic. Those of us who are on Warfarin for life have way too much at stake to be comfortable with the schedules proposed by clinics.

I just relocated to Switzerland, the dr and insurance here had no problem with prescribing/covering the INR tester for home use. I am looking forward to having more control over my INR, being able to check for any correlations between my diet and INR, during travels etc.
It is ever so much more pressing to have this option in times of pandemic!

I wish you all the best!