Heart Disease and Hospice
HeartLink is a disease management program offered by Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care to meet the unique needs of patients with end-stage cardiac disease. The course of heart disease is often unpredictable and managing symptoms can be difficult. To provide patients with a sense of clarity, Crossroads has developed a unique hospice program around cardiovascular issues.
Facts about heart failure and palliative care.
The following facts demonstrate how heart diseases, such as Congestive Heart Failure, affect many patients in the United States:
- Each year over 1 million people are admitted to inpatient settings for heart failure.
- Heart failure affects nearly 6.5 million people in the United States. Patients often have comorbidities of COPD, diabetes, dementia, renal failure and hypertension.
- 1 in 4 Medicare heart failure patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days costing billions a year.
See the hospice eligibility requirements for heart failure.
The goals of Crossroads Hospice & Palliative Care’s Heartlink program.
- Reduce emergency department visits and hospital readmissions
- Expert management of symptoms at home
- Increase patient and family understanding of the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis
- Improve quality of life in the setting of the patient’s choice
Our hospice services for heart disease.
- Comprehensive symptom management at home rather than in an emergency department or hospital
- Trained staff specializing in the care of patients with cardiac disease
- Cardiac medications available in the home, including diuretics and inotropes
- Continuous care for crisis management, as needed
- 3 shifts of full-time Crossroads staff to meet patient and family needs up to and including the time of death
- Interdisciplinary team to support physical, emotional and spiritual needs
- Collaboration between Crossroads and the patient’s primary physician
- Bereavement support offered by specialists trained in grief recovery
Contact us today to learn more about our hospice care program for end-stage cardiac disease.