Eleven hospitals across the country are participating in the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) new pilot patient navigator program to help support heart attack and heart failure patients most at risk for readmission. The patient navigators will help patients overcome challenges during their hospital stay and the weeks following discharge. The ACC created the program in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services penalizing hospitals for excessive readmissions for heart attack and heart failure. "These hospitals will serve as pioneers in a new approach to heart disease treatment and care that puts emphasis on meeting patients' ongoing needs and helping patients make a seamless transition from the hospital to the home," said ACC President John G. Harold, M.D, in an announcement for the program.
Participating hospitals include Advocate Sherman Hospital, Elgin, Ill.; Christiana Care Health Services, Wilmington, Del.; Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia; Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis; MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Portland, Ore.; Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles; St. Mary's Hospital, Waterbury, Conn.; Trident Health, Charleston, S.C. Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, Nashville, Tenn.; and WakeMed Health and Hospital, Raleigh, N.C. Announcement