2024 Funded Micro Grant
From Failure to Function: Humanizing Living with Heart Failure for Patients in the Johns Hopkins Heart Failure Bridge Clinic
Nisha Gilotra, Jess Barkdoll, Wesley Cairns, Sarah Riley, Kamishia Thomas, Julianne Chambers, Kara Heisler, LeeAnn Henry, Elissa Dorsey, Dorothy Byron, Jae Patton, Maxwell Ditlevson, Ama Awuah-Asamoah, Mixue Michelle Xie, Kimberly Cuomo, Natalie Babola
Heart Failure Bridge Clinic, JHOC
Patients with heart failure, a leading cause of hospitalization for adult patients with 1.24 million annual hospitalizations, are at high risk of readmission when transitioning from hospital to home care. They simultaneously deal with many burdens—adjusting to their diagnosis emotionally, processing medical jargon, managing medication additions and frequent dose changes, in addition to juggling expectations for self-management and impact on their caregivers. Currently, patients with heart failure discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital are scheduled in the multidisciplinary Johns Hopkins Outpatient Center Heart Failure Bridge Clinic within 1-2 weeks of discharge. Readmission rates are 25-50% lower than expected in patients who participate in bridge clinic. The team hopes to serve them even more effectively during this critical time.
Funds from the IHM grant will be used for both clinical and material interventions aimed towards shifting the team mindset from “failure” to “function.” Clinically, the team will train staff in word choice using “Words Matter” training cards modeled off resources from the Heart Failure Society of America and Journal of Cardiac Failure—an example being reframing the role of palliative care teams to be part of the “supportive cardiology team,” improving patient engagement. They will also create care packages to reduce care barriers for their patients, including pill boxes and pill cutters for medication management and large water bottles. Leveraging changes from this project, the team hopes to ultimately start a virtual heart failure patient/caregiver support group.