Page 9 - Dignity Health | Be well | Spring 2013

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about their care. Then Smith and a
colleague call participants weekly
to check on how they’re feeling and
address any concerns they have.
For instance, Smith might talk with
a patient about healthy eating and
exercise (she once gave a patient a
recipe for homemade soup over the
phone). Or they might discuss the
importance of reading food labels
to avoid salty foods and taking
medications as prescribed. She also
asks if patients have noticed any
foot swelling or rapid weight gain,
which can signal fluid buildup.
“If we catch a potential problem
early enough, we can keep you out
of the hospital,” Smith says. The —continued on page 10
Photo by We Shoot Ya Photography
program even provides scales for
those who can’t afford them.
Personal touch
Sister Pat Manoli, Senior Director
of Mission Integration, says the
program is part of a larger Dignity
Health North State initiative to
reduce hospital readmissions for
certain common chronic illnesses.
A similar program for diabetes is
also a success story.
“Our CHF program is just one
of many ways the hospitals are
partnering with our patients so
they can live life with quality,”
Manoli says.
And CHF patients appreciate the
personal touch.
“It’s really a great relief for many
of these patients to have that per-
sonal nurse, so to speak,” Manoli
says. “They like the confidence
that comes with having someone
checking in with them.”
Just ask CHF patient James
Schmitz, who looks forward to
Smith’s upbeat calls and the op-
portunity to learn about his condi-
tion and ask questions. He credits
James Schmitz with St. Elizabeth
Community Hospital Nurse Case
Manager Jeanette Smith, RN.
Mended Hearts Support Group
First Monday of each month, 9:30 to 10:30 am
Lower Level Conference Room, Mercy Medical Center Redding
A peer-to-peer support group for patients who have received a heart disease diagnosis and for their
family members and caregivers. Please call Deanna Gunter at . . for more information.
proof that this program is effec-
tively helping patients manage
CHF. For example, at MMCR,
readmission rates fell sharply
from approximately 30
percent to just 9.3 percent
over a recent four-month
period.
Empowering patients
CHF is a chronic weaken-
ing of the heart that can
cause a buildup of fluid in
the body, as well as short-
ness of breath and fatigue.
It’s a frequent reason for
hospitalization.
The Dignity Health North State
CHF self-management program—
offered to patients upon their
discharge—helps people with CHF
stay on track with their treatments
at home. Through self-help and
plenty of guidance and support,
participants learn better ways
of living with their disease, says
Jeanette Smith, RN, a Nurse Case
Manager with the program.
Before CHF patients leave the hos-
pital, program participants receive
a self-care handbook, Learning to
Live With Heart Failure, and meet
with a discharge staff member
Dignity Health North State