| 550,000 new cases of heart failure are diagnosed each year in the U.S.
Open House scheduled for
Tuesday, May 17
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2005
Contacts:
Diane Mattoon, PeaceHealth Public Affairs, 686-6868
Bev Mayhew, The Ulum Group, 434-7025 |
Eugene, Ore.— Patients with heart failure often end up in the hospital several times a year. As the only major cardiovascular disease that is rising in incidence and prevalence, heart failure—like diabetes—needs to be well managed. At Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene patients can now get optimal disease management at a new Heart Failure Center.
“The number of deaths in the U.S. from heart failure has nearly doubled since 1979,” says Jerold A. Hawn, M.D., medical director of the Heart Failure Center. “However, I’m convinced that with better care management and treatment, we can help people with this disease live longer and better lives.”
This is what Sacred Heart had in mind when it opened the center on April 18. The center offers a team approach to care and is designed to implement a treatment and prevention program for congestive heart failure. Along with Hawn, who is a physician with Oregon Cardiology, P.C., in Eugene, Suzy Webber, a nurse practitioner with a specialty in cardiovascular care, a dietitian, and other specially trained staff compose the care team. The staff plans to develop treatment protocols and evidence-based case management guidelines to use with patients.
Specifically, the goal of the center is to improve morbidity and mortality from heart failure, reduce hospital admissions, and improve the quality of life for patients. Patients at the center can receive a range of services from a complete heart failure assessment to a discussion about lifestyle choices and other factors that may worsen or magnify the disease. Patient education about these factors, exercise prescriptions, and diet and nutritional counseling, will be emphasized. Staff at the center will be available to provide expert consultations to inpatients at the hospital.
Physician education is also a significant part of the center’s mission. Most patients with heart failure are treated by their primary care physician (PCP), as opposed to a specialist, and it’s important the PCPs are fully informed of the latest care protocols. Nationally accepted guidelines will be stressed and communicated to physicians as part of an educational outreach program.
Located in Suite 240 of Physicians & Surgeons, the new center is part of the Oregon Heart & Vascular Institute at Sacred Heart.
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