{"id":332673,"date":"2025-12-05T20:34:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/332673\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T20:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:34:13","slug":"peacehealth-cut-a-cardiac-rehab-supervisor-some-patients-worry-about-their-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/332673\/","title":{"rendered":"PeaceHealth cut a cardiac rehab supervisor. Some patients worry about their care"},"content":{"rendered":"

After watching PeaceHealth implement numerous<\/a> rounds of layoffs this year<\/a>, patients at the system\u2019s St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham said they continue to seek weekly care, while fearing the sustainability and quality of the programs and workforce they depend on.<\/p>\n

Dozens of patients in Bellingham signed a petition in recent weeks asking the hospital not to close a portion of its cardiac rehabilitation program, which offers supervised exercise for patients recovering from cardiac events. A supervisor for cardiac rehab in Bellingham was among the 241 positions PeaceHealth cut systemwide in October<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement, cardiac patients in the program\u2019s third phase began hearing talk of the entire phase being cut or possibly outsourced, however, PeaceHealth said this week no immediate changes will be made<\/p>\n

Jerry Marschke, the head of cardiovascular services at St. Joseph, told patients the hospital needed to close phase three to make room for patients in phase two who need more intense care, according to multiple patients\u2019 recountings of Marschke\u2019s remarks. (Phase two of cardiac rehab is a required 10-week program mostly covered by insurance that occurs closer to a patient\u2019s cardiac event. Phase three is an optional follow-up not typically covered by insurance that patients can utilize for as long as they want to pay to partake.)<\/p>\n

After enduring notable cardiac events or procedures, patients can enter multiple phases of outpatient cardiac rehab. For some patients, the third phase, or maintenance, includes weekly vital checks before using the hospital\u2019s supervised bicycles, treadmills and NuStep cross trainer machines<\/a> during twice weekly open rehab sessions on the hospital\u2019s Squalicum Parkway campus. The program allows mostly elderly people to stay active following cardiac events with a like-minded group, participants say.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for PeaceHealth said phase three \u201cis continuing,\u201d while not specifying in what capacity. On Dec. 4, the spokesperson said the company has heard feedback and isn\u2019t \u201cmaking any immediate changes.\u201d The hospital\u2019s focus is on phase two and transitioning phase three participants who \u201care ready\u201d to independent exercise, a spokesperson said. PeaceHealth is \u201cprioritizing resources\u201d for phase two so the hospital \u201ccan provide the highest level of support during the period when patients are most vulnerable and require intensive, medically supervised care,\u201d the spokesperson told CDN in a statement.<\/p>\n

Matthew Pappas, an attorney in Whatcom County and a phase three patient, wrote to PeaceHealth, saying a closure of the program could run afoul of federal requirements for hospitals receiving Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.<\/p>\n

If PeaceHealth proceeds with the closure without addressing concerns detailed in Pappas eight-page letter to the hospital, he wrote he, \u201cwill have no choice but to explore formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, the U.S. Department of Justice, and relevant Washington state agencies, as well as to consult further about possible legal remedies on behalf of myself and similarly situated patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patients describe a safe space to exercise<\/p>\n

Following a heart attack earlier this year, John Baker started cardiac rehab at PeaceHealth in Bellingham. After receiving a stent and pacemaker, Baker began rehab twice a week for hourlong sessions. Baker was impressed with the staff and environment, he told CDN.<\/p>\n

After hearing of potential changes to the program, Baker wrote a letter opposing any changes. Soon, in November, he was speaking with PeaceHealth Northwest Chief Executive Charles Prosper, who assured him the program would not close, Baker said. Prosper said only senior-level staffing would change, according to Baker\u2019s recount of the exchange. (After pastoral education students at PeaceHealth raised concerns in October over cuts impacting their program<\/a>, they too found themselves on the receiving end of Prosper\u2019s assurances.)<\/p>\n

Patients of PeaceHealth\u2019s outpatient cardiac rehab told CDN it is a safe space for older people to exercise with the assurance of supervision. Absent the program, multiple participants said they\u2019d be too fearful to exercise at a public gym without medical supervision.<\/p>\n

Suzanne O\u2019Dea, a participant in the program who says she spoke with Marschke, said it is not safe for the more than 100 participants of the phase three program to exercise in conventional gyms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marschke said PeaceHealth is considering handing off the third phase program to an outside organization in the community, like the YMCA, according to O\u2019Dea. Multiple participants told CDN they fear a community organization wouldn\u2019t provide the same supervision and assurance from medical staff currently offered at the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are dedicated to being healthy and depend on this opportunity to have the benefit of the highly educated and dedicated staff who encourage and help us,\u201d the patients said in the petition sent to PeaceHealth management.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stated justification appears to be cost-cutting and \u201crealignment,\u201d at the same time that PeaceHealth is eliminating hundreds of positions across the system,\u201d Pappas said in his letter. \u201cFrom the perspective of those of us whose lives and long-term functioning depend on safe maintenance cardiac rehabilitation, this decision appears to prioritize marginal financial savings over patient safety, disability rights, and PeaceHealth\u2019s stated mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Exploring options for Phase 3<\/p>\n

PeaceHealth is \u201cexploring options for current Phase 3 patients who are ready to transition to another option more appropriate for long-term, ongoing exercise and maintenance,\u201d a hospital spokesperson told CDN in a statement when asked if they\u2019d inquired with the YMCA or other community organizations to take on phase three, as participants said they were told.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The YMCA is in conversation \u201cwith PeaceHealth about how the Y might support cardiac rehabilitation for patients who have been medically cleared to transition into community-based exercise,\u201d Courtney Whitaker, the YMCA\u2019s CEO, said in a statement to CDN. \u201cPeaceHealth would continue to lead the clinical care, while the Y would provide a welcoming environment for supervised exercise, connection, and ongoing wellness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants of the third phase said they pay less than $50\/month to partake in the program through which they access weekly rehab. Due to the low cost of entry, cardiac rehab patients fear the program they cherish has been deprioritized due to the minimal, if any, profit the program earns for St. Joseph in a time of widespread financial upheaval for hospitals.<\/p>\n

Should PeaceHealth draw back its cardiac rehab program in Bellingham beyond cutting a supervisor, the hospital wouldn\u2019t be alone, as other hospitals in the region have announced plans<\/a> to shutter cardiac rehab programs. (PeaceHealth said the cardiac rehab supervisor and others were cut due to challenging financial circumstances facing hospitals.)<\/p>\n

\u201cClosing Phase 3 might save a comparatively trivial amount of money in the short term, but it is likely to increase long-term utilization of emergency and inpatient services,\u201d Pappas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Owen Racer<\/a> is a Report for America<\/a> corps member who covers health care and public health in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Reach him at owenracer@cascadiadaily.com<\/a>; 360-922-3090 ext. 101. Learn more and donate at cascadiadaily.com\/rfa<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After watching PeaceHealth implement numerous rounds of layoffs this year, patients at the system\u2019s St. Joseph Medical Center…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332674,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":{"0":"post-332673","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}