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It takes a village to care for a VAD patient, and Tower 8AB’s Joan Dorr, BSN, RN, and Cynthia Scherer, BSN, RN, last month prepared the town of Waltham to do just that.
The two nurses trained firefighters and EMTs on how to respond to a Waltham resident and BWH patient with a VAD, or ventricular assist device, which helps his heart pump normally.
“Our patients are usually the first in their communities to have this device because BWH is among only a handful of hospitals in the area that implants VADs,” said Colleen Smith, NP.
Smith and Leslie Griffin, NP, have trained firefighters, EMTs and, in one small town in Maine, a group of volunteers. They also have trained staff from professional ambulance companies and air response to ensure that anyone who is in contact with the patient during an emergency knows what to do. Now, Dorr and Scherer, who are experienced at educating VAD patients and their families before they are discharged from the hospital, are joining Smith and Griffin in community training.
Such training is par for the course for every single VAD patient who returns home. BWH implants about 20 of the devices per year both in patients who are awaiting transplant and those who need the VAD as destination therapy. Right now, about 10 BWH patients with VADs live at home in communities throughout New England.
“Most of our patients with VADs do go home, and the beauty of that is they can actually live their lives normally, putting them in better shape for their transplant than if they remained in the hospital,” Smith said.
At the recent training in Waltham, Scherer and Dorr explained the basics of how the VAD works and how to respond to several potential scenarios. Smith, Dorr and Scherer provided four sessions in Waltham so that every emergency responder received training.
This community training, coupled with in-hospital education, is key to patients’ health. “By educating patients before they leave the hospital, nurses ensure that patients and families are comfortable and confident in what they need to do in case of an emergency,” Smith said.