Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo sees a critical service gap in cardiac rehab for seniors.
A new program announced Tuesday, however, is seeking to bridge that gap.
Officials at Radius HealthCare in Millbury announced their new Cardiac Reconditioning Program in an effort to maximize the benefits of rehabilitation for patients that have recently suffered a cardiac illness.
"There have been barriers in place," said Biondolillo, corporate medical director for Radius. "Patients are leaving hospitals sooner and are more fragile than ever before."
"We have never had a program as complete as this before."
The program coordinated the efforts of doctors, nurses, dietitians, physical therapists and several other medical professionals to rehabilitate patients physically and mentally. Aside from careful patient monitoring, the program will involve in-depth medical evaluations, prescribed exercise and educational interventions.
"It is a very structured program," said Janet Hall, vice president of clinical services for Radius. "The education starts when (the patients) walk through the door."
Several goals are set for patients, such as improving their blood lipid levels, reducing cigarette smoking and decreasing their stress to improve overall psychosocial well-being. All the goals aim to maximize functional independence and quality of life for those who need it most.
Hall said the Radius staff is ready to help.
"We have such a skilled nursing force here," she said. "Having as many as we have here to cover patients is phenomenal."
Such programs are few and far between according to Dr. Bessie Hazard, medical director at Radius. However, she believes the program in Millbury may be a trend for other rehabilitation facilities to follow.
"I would not be surprised to see more and more nursing homes, each with their own best area," said Dr. Hazard. "This way, some places can specialize in orthopedics, some in dealing with patients that have strokes and still others like us that deal with cardiology."
Radius has its own cardiologist, Dr. Neeta Shah from the Fallon Clinic, who comes to the facility every week to help with additional care and information.
"She really cares about community programs such as this," said Biondolillo.
To have a cardiologist come every week is rare, according to many staff members at Radius.
With the new program in place, the Radius staff believe many more patients will have an opportunity to increase their health status and bridge that gap after going through a cardio-related crisis.
"Heart failure is a terrible thing," said Biondolillo. "We want to see that we are doing everything we can for these folks."