February is American Heart Awareness Month. The first American Heart Month took place in February 1964, per President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 2002, the Red Dress campaign, known as “Go Red for Women,” was introduced by The Heart Truth, becoming a national symbol to increase awareness of women’s heart disease.

The awareness from these campaigns along with alternative medical advancements in cardiac care has affected the length of life for those with cardiac disease. While people with heart disease are living longer, in most cases they live with a poor quality of life.

Hosparus Health currently provides care to patients with advanced heart disease but only to a small percentage of the potential population. To further serve more patients we have developed Hosparus Health Heart Connection, launching its pilot program Spring 2018.

The goal of the program is to reach the vastly under-served patients that are filling local emergency rooms weekly because they are unable to manage their heart disease symptoms independently at home. As an organization, we want to close the gap in care that has contributed to the $32 billion annual health care cost.

Many patients in our communities qualify for our services but do not receive them due to lack of public and physician knowledge. Our team will be educating patients, hospitals, physicians and nurses about the care we provide for advanced cardiac disease. The Hosparus Health Heart Connection program will provide in-home visits by our specially trained interdisciplinary team and continue our 24-hour clinical support.

In addition, these patients will receive a symptom tracker tool. The symptom tracker is a user-friendly tool designed like a stoplight allowing the patient (and family) to triage their symptoms as they experience them day to day.

Patients, in need, will be provided a digital scale to ensure consistent daily weights. Staff will provide the education to prevent frequent readmissions along with coordinating care with their primary cardiologist.

Treatment plans will be patient goal oriented to improve quality of life, all while occurring in the patient’s choice of home environment.

Advanced cardiac disease cannot be cured, but it can be managed if monitored closely. We look forward to implementing this program throughout the organization and supporting the mission of Hosparus Health.

Learn more about American Heart Month and heart health at www.heart.org.
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