Valparaiso resident Joe Kusiak suffers from congestive heart failure and spends more time in the hospital than he would like. He needs help sometimes managing his symptoms so he doesn’t end up back in the hospital.
“I am doing a lot of right things, but I could be better,” he says. “I want to be better.”
Patients like Kusiak with chronic illnesses often find themselves visiting the Emergency Department or being readmitted to the hospital due to complications with their conditions. In many cases, convalescence and health management can be successfully maintained at home; yet, when symptoms become unmanageable, hospitalization may become necessary.
St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, in partnership with Superior Ambulance of Indiana, launched an initiative in July 2016 to help reduce readmissions and ensure patients are managing their care at home. The Community Paramedicine program is a patient care coordination effort in which paramedics periodically check on chronically ill patients in their home for at least 30 days following discharge.
St. Mary Medical Center is the first hospital in Northwest Indiana to offer this service. It is currently available to patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
The Community Paramedicine program educates and empowers patients to be active partners in their treatment and recovery, so that together positive outcomes can be achieved with fewer ED visits and hospitalizations.
Community Paramedicine at St. Mary Medical Center is available to qualified CHF and COPD patients for at least 30 days following discharge. Eligible patients must live within one half-hour of the hospital, located at 1500 S. Lake Park Ave. in Hobart, to receive services. Patients who believe they may qualify for Community Paramedicine services are encouraged to speak with their cardiologist or pulmonologist about a program referral.
