1. The Power of Peer Support

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

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

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

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

6. 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.
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7. 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.
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8. 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.
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9. 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 other hospitals
Mended Hearts is a venerable organization with many strong assets.
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10. 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?
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11. Reduced Readmissions! Critical Timing New Reimbursement Rules
Proven Model
Inexpensive Solution
Opportunity: System Approach

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

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

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

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

16. More than 1/4 = depression
Most took specific action

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

19. 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

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

21. 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

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

23. 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, , text
Irrespective of location, hospital affiliation
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24. Opportunities Consider the Power of Peer Support in your settings
Help start a Mended Hearts Chapter
Join us!

25. Call or visit us!
1-888-HEART-99