Each year, millions of Americans die from heart disease. Patients with congestive heart failure alone account for more than 1 million inpatient admissions annually. At Ohio’s Hospice, our care team plays an important role in delivering superior cardiac care to the patients we are privileged to serve.

During the month of February, Ohio’s Hospice is observing American Heart Month to help raise awareness and increase education around the importance of managing symptoms to improve quality of life for patients with advanced cardiac disease. Our care team is committed to helping patients reach their goals of care wherever they call home.

As part of its Focused Care^TM program, Ohio’s Hospice offers the Advanced Cardiac Care program to patients throughout the state of Ohio. The Advanced Cardiac Care program is a resource that is available through collaboration with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI).

The program’s patient and caregiver guide provides education on heart failure and strategies to avoid multiple hospital and emergency room visits, which are a huge source of stress for the patient and their family members. Through its affiliates, Ohio’s Hospice is introducing the program throughout the state of Ohio.

Ohio’s Hospice lent its expertise and experience in developing the Advanced Cardiac Care program through Lynda Weide, MSN, RN, CHPN, director of Focused Care™ at Ohio’s Hospice. She is instrumental in leading the Ohio’s Hospice Focused Care program, a disease-specific program that customizes each patient’s care. Focused Care services include symptom management for patients with cancer, heart disease and pulmonary illnesses including respiratory therapy support.

“Our Advanced Cardiac Care guide is based on evidence and best practices about how heart failure is treated as a whole,” Weide said. “Our care, our program, our policies, and our processes are consistent with evidence-based practices.”

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is not pumping blood throughout the body as well it should. While heart failure may shorten a patient’s life, good medical management can help a patient live longer with a better quality of life.

Healthcare providers in the communities served by Ohio’s Hospice follow evidence-based practices and guidelines of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

“The care we provide is consistent with those best practices and guidelines,” Weide said. “Our patients and their families know that we provide consistent care that supports symptom management and enhances quality of life.”

Through Ohio’s Hospice’s Focused Care program, a specialized cardiac nurse advises a patient’s care team, including their primary care physicians, cardiologists and specialists. The program helps close gaps in communication so that a patient receives consistent care.

“If there are specific cardiac patient care needs, we will confer with the cardiologist and his or her team to modify the patient’s medication and plan of care,” Weide said.

To learn more about the Focused Care program and to download the Advanced Cardiac Care Program Patient and Caregiver Handbook, click here.