The Power of Peer Support

Michele Packard-Milam, CAE Executive Director Certified Association Executive since 2006 Staff of 11 Lifelong Volunteer Family History of Familial Hypercholesterolemia

About Mended Hearts Founded 1951 Dwight Harken, MD 20,000 Members 300 Chapters 460 Hospitals 215,000 Patients Visited Annually National - Based in Dallas

What We Knew Visiting helps patients AND visitors HCPs can tell when a patient has been visited HCPs strongly supportive Visiting improves outcomes

What We Could Prove Patients said they felt better HCPs said they could tell a difference Patients seemed to do better No empirical data

Three Survey Phases CMS Hospital Compare Data 7/30/2019 Three Survey Phases CMS Hospital Compare Data Patient Attitudes and Awareness – Phase 1 Week 1 following hospitalization Patient Attitudes and Awareness – Phase 2 Week 4-6 following hospitalization Mended Hearts is a venerable organization with many strong assets. HP template

Survey Objectives Compare hospitals Assess readmission rates 7/30/2019 Survey Objectives Compare hospitals With and without visiting programs Assess readmission rates Measure patient attitudes Compliance Perceived wellness Self-efficacy Sense of control Satisfaction with hospital experience Mended Hearts is a venerable organization with many strong assets. HP template

Survey Logistics Access Dates Survey links provided to patients 7/30/2019 Survey Logistics Access Survey links provided to patients 294 patients completed Phase I survey 94 Patients completed Phase II survey 39% response rate Dates Phase I – February 15 – August 20, 2014 Phase II – April 10 – August 20, 2014 Mended Hearts is a venerable organization with many strong assets. HP template

Compare Data Objectives Access 7/30/2019 Compare Data Objectives Analyze hospital records from CMS Compare Data Assess impact of MHI peer-to-peer support program on patient outcomes 30-Day readmission and mortality rates Heart Attack Heart Failure Access CMS data from 4805 hospitals downloaded 164 Mended Hearts hospitals comparable to 4641 other hospitals Mended Hearts is a venerable organization with many strong assets. HP template

7/30/2019 Key CMS Finding: Mended Hearts hospitals’ readmission rates for heart failure are significantly more likely to be “better than U.S. national rate” than other U.S. hospitals A lot has changed. For decades, we were under the wings of larger, more dominant organizations, but that all changed this year. We are no longer receiving any guaranteed revenue from anyone. Our infrastructure must now be funded by allocating a portion of every dollar we raise. And while we can add some operations costs to our proposals, we can’t really fully load them, without pricing ourselves out of the grant market, so to speak. This means that we must fund operations partially from within our larger organization. Do you have any questions about what these changes mean? HP template

Reduced Readmissions! Critical Timing New Reimbursement Rules Proven Model Inexpensive Solution Opportunity: System Approach

Phase 1: Visit Impacts Hospital Experience 90% noted favorable impact on hospital experience More than half ‘much more favorable’

Phase 1: Visit Impacts Hospital Experience Nearly 90% felt visitor was helpful More than two-thirds said ‘extremely helpful’

Phase I: Perceived Helpfulness Support from someone with similar experience Helpful information on medical condition and recovery Encouragement

Phase II: Top Three Conditions Hypertension High Cholesterol Coronary Artery Disease

More than 1/4 = depression Most took specific action

Phase II: Sense of Wellness 3/4 patients felt in ‘very good/excellent health’ More than half cited no impact on activities

Phase II Survey Results ~25% experienced symptoms post-hospital AFib most common Less than 1/5 readmitted to hospital after earlier visit ~25% no additional procedures performed Almost 2/3 of readmitted patients had same procedure as previous admission

Phase II Compliance Following medical regimens: Rate themselves extremely highly Diligent about medications Especially diuretics Favorable ratings: Physical activities Watching for worsening symptoms

Phase II Satisfaction 30 days post-discharge, patients ‘very satisfied’ with Mended Hearts, for both: Encounter with visitor Materials (HeartPack) More than 90% recommend Mended Hearts More than half joined Mended Hearts

Survey Implications New hospital system approach System-wide approach Expand visiting program Virtual and multimedia visiting HeartGuide Discharge process Stronger connection to rehab

New Patient Support Tools 7/30/2019 New Patient Support Tools HeartGuide – New Patient Resource Hard Copy Digital Online Smartphone/Tablet App Enhanced Peer Support Scheduled Virtual Visitors Available by phone, email, text Irrespective of location, hospital affiliation HP template

Opportunities Consider the Power of Peer Support in your settings Help start a Mended Hearts Chapter Join us!

Call or visit us! www.mendedhearts.org 1-888-HEART-99