MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release

HALIFAX REGIONAL DEVELOPS PROGRAM FOR HEART FAILURE PATIENTS
Kate B. Reynolds Grant Funds Program

 
ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC – (September 24, 2007) –Halifax Regional has created a new program to help patients who have been treated for heart failure.

Through a grant of nearly $74,000 from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, Halifax Regional will seek to reduce the rate that heart failure patients return to Halifax Regional.

“The primary reason patients are admitted back to the Medical Center after being treated for heart failure is the lack of compliance with their physician’s medical instructions for continuing treatment,” said Lisa Gupton, director of case management at Halifax Regional.
Last year, approximately one-fourth of heart failure patients were re-admitted to the Medical Center.

“Our goal is to reduce re-admissions and help patients maintain their health so they are less dependent on the emergency room of the Medical Center,” Gupton explained. “In the final analysis, we want patients to assume a greater responsibility for their own health.”

The new program “will bridge the gap between patients’ health and the factors that may keep them from complying with the treatment plan that their physician has provided them,” Gupton said. The factors may include lack of knowledge about the disease, lack of family support or lack of monitoring by a medical professional.

A case manager will be assigned to work with heart failure patients who are considered “high risk” by their physician. The case manager will offer counseling and education to help patients comply with diet and drug regiments and coordinate medical services. They will contact patients to review progress and assist them when necessary.

# # #
About Halifax Regional