EDMONTON – Patients who have had serious damage to their hearts now have access to a new Edmonton clinic that is expected to shorten their hospital stays and give them rehabilitation sooner than before.
Instead of being discharged home with eventual but vague contact from a nurse – leaving many vulnerable to skipping their followup care – patients now have a prearranged, scheduled visit within seven days of discharge with nurse practitioner Andrea Van Damme, who oversees the new clinic for high-risk cardio patients. Van Damme immediately gives them stress tests to see what exercises are safe for them to do at home, then enrols them in rehabilitation at the Glenrose Hospital within 14 days, if appropriate.
Before the clinic opened in the Mazankowski Heart Institute, patients typically waited months before heading to the Glenrose, during which they lost some strength in their muscles and confidence in their health outcomes.
Only 20 to 30 per cent of people eligible for rehab typically follow up with that care plan, Van Damme said. The clinic for high-risk cardiac patients aims to increase that by making sure people don’t fall through the gaps.
“In the past, patients often went home without an assessment, without cardiac rehab, not knowing what activity would be appropriate and what wouldn’t be,” Van Damme said. “This is basically an automatic referral, so this is a way to really get a hold of the population that had been missed previously.”
It’s expected to reduce hospital readmissions and emergency visits, she said.
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Maurice Saulnier, 71, said the clinic and the subsequent five-week therapy sessions at the Glenrose became his life line.
“It’s a life saver,” said Saulnier, who had such a serious heart attack June 1 that 70 per cent of his heart was damaged. It actually stopped on the emergency gurney before Saulnier was revived.
He was linked with Van Damme before he was discharged home.
“I don’t know how I could have handled it if I would have had to wait three, four, five, six weeks, two, three months before I would have found out how I was actually doing,” Saulnier said. “That put my mind at ease.”
Saulnier has regained strength, rides a stationary bike three times a week and walks his dog daily.
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