Christiana Care Health System launches patient navigator program to keep patients healthy after they leave hospital

Christiana Care Health System is one of 15 hospitals selected out of 132 eligible hospitals nationwide by the American College of Cardiology to participate in a new program designed to keep patients healthy at home after discharge from the hospital.

The Patient Navigator Program supports a team of caregivers to help patients who are at increased risk for readmission overcome challenges during their hospital stay and in the weeks following discharge. The program supports a culture of patient-centered care at Christiana Care that serves as a model for other hospitals. The caregivers will partner with patients to help them understand their health condition, care plan, medications, and how to use community resources. AstraZeneca is the founding sponsor of the ACC Patient Navigator Program.

“The Patient Navigator Program helps us advance our efforts to provide innovative systems of care that our neighbors value,” said Tim Gardner, M.D., executive director of Christiana Care Health System’s Value Institute and medical director of Christiana Care’s Center for Heart and Vascular Health, which will lead the program. “We have the opportunity through this program to provide patients with the support and guidance they need when they are discharged so they can remain in their homes with their family and can focus on recuperating.”

Nationally, nearly 1 in 5 patients hospitalized following a heart attack and 1 in 4 patients hospitalized with heart failure are readmitted within 30 days of discharge, often for conditions seemingly unrelated to the original diagnosis.Readmissions can be related to issues such asweakness and physical frailty upon discharge, lack of understanding of discharge instructions and an inability for the patient alone to follow discharge instructions.

"The American College of Cardiology Patient Navigator Program will serve as a test for innovative, patient-centered solutions to address issues that impact patient health and patient readmissions," said American College of Cardiology president John G. Harold, M.D., MACC. "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."

Christiana Care was selectedbecause of its commitment to quality as demonstrated by participation in the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and Hospital to Home program. An additional 20 hospitals are slated to join the program by the end of 2015.

"AstraZeneca is proud to support the American College of Cardiology Patient Navigator Program to make a meaningful impact on the quality of care patients receive as they transition from hospital to home following a heart attack," said Gregory F. Keenan, M.D., vice president and U.S. head medical officer, AstraZeneca. "We congratulate the first hospitals that will participate in this innovative patient program."