PPH program receives national certification

By: ANDREA MOSS - Staff Writer | Monday, November 7, 2005 9:07 PM PST ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Palomar Medical Center has joined a select group of hospitals, including three others in the county, whose cardiac rehabilitation programs are certified by a national organization committed to ensuring that recovering cardiac patients enjoy a high quality of life.

Started about 15 years ago, Palomar's program teaches cardiac patients how to change their lifestyles and then monitors the patients' exercise sessions for several weeks after they have a heart attack, angioplasty, open-heart surgery or other major heart problem. Former cardiac patients eager to keep their hearts in healthy condition also participate.

The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, a nonprofit group of medical professionals, conducted a stringent, months-long review of Palomar's program before issuing its certification. The certificate adds the hospital to a list of just 38 in the state that have nationally certified cardiac rehabilitation programs.

In San Diego County, the association has given the same certification to Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, UC San Diego Medical Center in San Diego and Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla.

Participants in Palomar's cardiac rehabilitation program meet three times a week in a small gym at the hospital, where they do aerobic exercise and strength training under the watchful eyes of cardiac nurses and exercise physiologists. Patients wear heart monitors during their workouts, which are tailored to their individual needs, and receive information designed to keep their hearts healthy.

"It's 12 to 16 weeks of highly watched, super-customized exercises, all directly monitored by a nurse who specializes in heart care," said Virginia Barragan. "You get things like specific dietary lectures about what to eat and what not to eat, stress reduction lectures ---- all those things that are critical to make sure you're doing the right things to develop the right habits to make sure you live a healthy life."

The program costs $70 per month ---- a fee hospital officials said is covered by most insurance companies.

A visit to Palomar's cardiac rehabilitation gym Monday afternoon found more than a dozen cardiac patients working out on treadmills, exercise bicycles, rowing machines and other fitness machines. Several exercise physiologists and nurses circulated around the room, checking participants' vital signs and advising patients on their workouts.

Just outside the room, other participants fast-walked around an outdoor track, lifted free weights or challenged their muscles with thick stretch bands.

Harry Carter, 82, was among those using a treadmill. The Valley Center resident, who joined in the rehabilitation program after doctors inserted a stent in a nearly completely closed artery in August, was full of praise for the program and its "wonderful" staff members.

"I think it's super," Carter said. "I think everybody that has a problem that's like I had should take this program. It shows you what to do."

Outside, Valley Center resident Donna O'Hare lifted barbells in a steady rhythm. The 81-year-old said she enrolled in the cardiac rehabilitation program on her doctor's advice, after he removed a tumor from her heart a year ago.

"It's great," O'Hare said, adding that she expects to continue in the long-term "maintenance" phase of the program until she can no longer walk. She said the program beats those available at commercial fitness centers.

"And if anything happens, the ER is right around the corner," O'Hare said.

The program's certification fits in with Palomar Pomerado's goal of using the best health care practices possible, Barragan said. The certification also dovetails with the public hospital district's Cardiac Alert program, which enables paramedics to diagnose cardiac patients in the field and get them into critical treatment faster, she said.

Dr. Dennis Leahy, an interventional cardiologist who helped found the Pomerado's Cardiac Alert program, described the rehab program as "a huge piece" in care of people recovering from a major heart problem.

"I think when patients have that experience, they really feel like they've lost a lot of control," the physician said. "The cardiac rehabilitation program is important in re-establishing their level of control over the situation. The rehabilitation people really kind of educate them and give them things they need to know."

Contact staff writer Andrea Moss at (760) 739-6654 or amoss@nctimes.com.

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