PeaceHealth plans to shrink an optional part of its cardiac rehabilitation services in Bellingham.<\/p>\n
The third phase of cardiac rehab, which has traditionally been a supervised service on the hospital\u2019s main Bellingham campus that some participants have attended weekly for more than a decade, will now be capped.<\/p>\n
As of Feb. 26, current and prospective participants can stay in phase three for only eight weeks, Jerry Marschke, the executive director of cardiovascular services, told participants at a meeting for patients Thursday. Come the end of April, current phase three cardiac rehab participants won\u2019t be eligible for the program when they\u2019ve reached their eight weeks.<\/p>\n
The announcement comes after PeaceHealth cut the cardiac rehab program\u2019s supervisor in a round of layoffs in October, leading dozens of patients to sign a petition asking the hospital not to cut or close the program<\/a>. Multiple patients sent letters to the health system\u2019s regional executive, stating the importance of the program to their recovery. PeaceHealth St. Joseph has been talking with the YMCA about potentially outsourcing the program.<\/p>\n Now, PeaceHealth is developing a partnership with the YMCA, which is preparing to welcome phase three participants who\u2019ve finished their eight weeks at PeaceHealth, the hospital said in a statement to Cascadia Daily News.<\/p>\n Phase three of cardiac rehab is an optional and final period of outpatient rehabilitation that follows initial phases that are more intensive, often required or highly recommended, and take place more immediately after a cardiac event. Previously, patients had the option to stay in phase three for as long as they\u2019d like.<\/p>\n PeaceHealth has hosted twice-weekly open rehab sessions on St. Joseph\u2019s Squalicum Parkway campus that allow people to maintain active movement following cardiac events. The optional phase three is not typically covered by insurance and costs participants around $50 per month.<\/p>\n \u201cOur phase two program is growing so rapidly, we\u2019re seeing it grow about 12 to 13 percent per year, and we need to create space for the phase two patients, because that\u2019s the core of what we do in cardiac rehab, is phase two,\u201d Marschke told patients, according to multiple audio recordings of the meeting provided to Cascadia Daily News by attendees of the Thursday meeting, conducted at the hospital\u2019s health education center.<\/p>\n A Cascadia Daily News reporter attempting to witness the meeting was asked by a PeaceHealth official to leave. The person then summoned security to ensure the reporter\u2019s departure, stating it was a private event.<\/p>\n After Marschke repeatedly said the decision to limit the program to eight weeks was due to space constraints and a growing phase two population, one participant suggested money could be raised to expand the space if the hospital would communicate to the public the fact that the patients highly value the caregivers.<\/p>\n Phase three will remain open to new patients coming out of phase two, PeaceHealth said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis approach helps ensure that we can prioritize access to Phase 2, which is the medically necessary and time\u2011sensitive stage of recovery following a cardiac event, while still supporting patients who wish to continue structured exercise in a non\u2011clinical format,\u201d the hospital spokesperson said. <\/p>\n Skagit Regional Health\u2019s Cardiac Rehab has no limit on the length of time a patient can remain in phase three, according to a spokesperson. <\/p>\n But many of the roughly hundred phase three patients who attended Thursday\u2019s meeting say they won\u2019t attend cardiac rehab elsewhere at places like the YMCA.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all know the stories of people who didn\u2019t die because they were at cardiac rehab when they had a cardiac event,\u201d one participant said.<\/p>\n Without the cardiac rehab program on St. Joseph\u2019s campus, many program participants said they fear for their safety doing cardiac rehab without medical supervision and without the close proximity to the emergency room.<\/p>\n A few weeks ago in a phase three session, a participant fell face-first on their treadmill, according to a participant\u2019s recounting Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time I unhooked my safety strap and turned the machine off, two girls were over there helping her up,\u201d the participant said. \u201cThat quick, you won\u2019t find this in a commercial gym anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n Patients also said they fear that the scale-back will result in PeaceHealth treating more preventable cardiac events.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of it is, is to shorten this program to eight weeks guarantees that most of the people in this room will be back getting heart procedures much quicker than they would if the program continues. You\u2019re sentencing us to shorter life expectancies,\u201d one participant told Marschke Thursday.<\/p>\n When attendees lent a proverbial hand to Marschke, saying they knew he supported the patients\u2019 plea and that the patients understood he\u2019s in a tough spot, he said that the decision wasn\u2019t made in Vancouver, Clark County, where the health system is based, but rather in Bellingham. The decision was his, he said.<\/p>\n The Catholic nonprofit\u2019s announcement to its patients Thursday came the same day PeaceHealth published an \u201copen letter to the community<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are facing forces far beyond our local or even our system control,\u201d the letter reads in part. \u201cFederal action to significantly reduce healthcare funding is creating enormous strain on health systems across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Program participants asked Marschke if a committee that included patients could be established to determine an alternative route. Marschke said he would consider a committee, but can\u2019t make any promises.<\/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":"PeaceHealth plans to shrink an optional part of its cardiac rehabilitation services in Bellingham. 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