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Patient Centered Care at Emory Structural Heart & Valve Center
Patricia Keegan, Director of Strategic and Programmatic Initiatives for Emory Heart and Vascular and Lead Nurse Practitioner for Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center, discusses patient-centered care.
Featuring:
Patricia Keegan, DNP, NP-C
Patricia Keegan is a board certified Nurse Practioner. She earned her Masters of Science, Nursing degree from the University of Alabama. Patricia has specialized in Structural Heart disease for more than six years. Transcription:
Bill Klaproth (Host): At the Emory Healthcare Heart and Vascular Center, your heart and vascular health is their top priority. Here to talk about the patient-centered care at Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center, is Tricia Keegan, lead Nurse Practitioner for the Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center at Emory Healthcare. Tricia, thanks for your time. The Emory Healthcare Heart and Vascular Center consistently is recognized by US News and World Report as one of the top heart health centers in the nation. Why such a commitment to heart health?
Patricia Keegan DNP, NP-C (Guest): Well for Emory, heart disease is one of the number one killers of patients in the United States. And so, we do take it very seriously. For our center specifically, we do deal with patients with structural heart disease, which we are seeing growing at astounding numbers as our patient population continues to age.
Host: Right so, can you talk about the coordinated care at the Emory Heart and Vascular Center?
Patricia: Absolutely. We’re very, very lucky to have a number of team members who work together. So, when patients come to the doctor, they typically see just a physician and they may see an office assistant. For us, we have a dedicated team of administrative assistants who help patients throughout their process, as well as dedicated team of nursing. We have a coordinator who helps arrange the testing and the care for the patient who comes into our center as well as, nurse navigators; because we recognize that this entire process can be overwhelming for a patient. We take care of patients from the moment that they are diagnosed with valvular heart disease or structural heart disease, for the rest of life. And that provides a continuity of care that’s not typically seen.
Host: Absolutely. And can you tell us about the heart conditions you treat most?
Patricia: Absolutely. The heart has four major valves. We have an aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonic valve and so we take care of patients who have problems with either stiffness of their heart valve or leakiness of their heart valve as well as other structural problems whether it’s a small hole in the heart or if it is problems with the coronary anatomy as well.
Host: You were talking about valvular and structural heart conditions; can you tell us the difference between those two?
Patricia: Absolutely. When we talk about valvular; it’s a subset of structural heart disease. So, when you see a structural heart center; it is a very all-encompassing evolution of cardiology. We used to send patients to surgeons to be treated for valvular heart disease and now we have special teams, the heart team as it would be; that takes care of these patients. And our heart team is made up of cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, as well as other subspecialty physicians. Now for our team as well, that includes advanced practice providers, the nursing we discussed before, as well as our administrative assistants.
Host: Okay, so you were just telling us about the teams. Can you also tell us about the advanced treatment options and therapies available at the Heart and Vascular Center?
Patricia: Absolutely. Emory was one of the first sites in the nation to perform a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement and that’s where instead of doing open heart surgery to fix an aortic valve; we can do it making small incisions in the leg vessels and these patients typically don’t have to go on bypass and have a much faster recovery or a return to baseline with many of our patients going home after one night in the hospital. We also treat mitral valve disease with this same type of therapy where we can even repair using transcatheter options rather than open heart surgery in some patients. We can also do this for tricuspid and pulmonic valve disease as well.
Host: Well, that’s interesting. So, that brings up collaboration again. Can you talk about collaboration between the specialties that you were just mentioning within the Emory Heart and Vascular Center and how that delivers seamless care for all patients?
Patricia: Absolutely. We have our team of interventional cardiologists as well as cardiac surgeons and what we do is when we bring patients in, we have them have some very specific imaging; whether it’s an echocardiogram which is an ultrasound of the heart or a CT scan which is a very specific x-ray; and we take these images and we meet as a heart team to go over each patient’s case. And I think that’s really important because there’s no two patients that are exactly the same. And so, each patient gets this individual care.
Now what makes this even more special, is we have our coordinator and our navigators who are nurses who help really guide patients through the process. So, patients have somebody who is dedicated to them to help them throughout their entire hospitalization as well as even before they come to the hospital. So, you have somebody if you have any questions or concerns, that you can contact.
Now one of the items that makes Emory even more special, is we are what’s called a patient-family-centered care organization. And what that means is that our nurses and our staff are dedicated to making sure that the patient is part of this decision process. So, we don’t have typical visiting hours. We do what’s called bedside rounds which means that the nurses talk in front of the patient, so the patient is always aware of what’s going on with their condition. As well as the family. Emory is also a Magnet designated facility which really helps to align nursing goals and improve patient outcomes. So, when we take this innovative therapy that’s available along with our team-based care and empower nursing to assist in this process; we feel that this helps to improve our patient outcomes.
Host: I love that. Patient-family-centered care. I mean you are taking care of the whole family which is really an important benefit. And Tricia, you’ve mentioned a nurse navigator a couple of times. Can you explain to us what that is?
Patricia: Absolutely. So, we have a navigator who works within our system. Now what’s interesting about this position; it was started in fields like transplant or oncology where these nurses were dedicated to helping patients throughout a long process whether it was setting up visits with various specialties or making sure that they were included throughout the process of being treated for their disease.
And so, we took advantage of this position early on within our organization, specifically for structure heart disease because we understood that a lot of these patients were travelling distances to come to Emory and really needed somebody who was going to be an expert in their care to help them navigate the health system and the disease process. So, when our patients have questions about medications; they can call this nurse or if they have questions about the procedure itself; we have a point of contact. And these nurses work directly with our physicians and our advanced practice providers to ensure that the patients are getting the best possible care.
Host: Well having someone to make the process easier, really seems to make sense. So, if someone is interested in coming to the Heart and Vascular Center; how can they contact you? How can they make an appointment?
Patricia: They can go through our Emory Health Connect and the best number to do that at is area code 404-778-7777 and ask for an appointment with the Structural Heart and Valve Center.
Host: Tricia, thanks so much for your time. For more information, please visit www.emoryhealthcare.org/heart, that’s www.emoryhealthcare.org/heart. And to make an appointment, please call 404-778-7777. Once again, that’s 404-778-7777. You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.
Bill Klaproth (Host): At the Emory Healthcare Heart and Vascular Center, your heart and vascular health is their top priority. Here to talk about the patient-centered care at Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center, is Tricia Keegan, lead Nurse Practitioner for the Emory Structural Heart and Valve Center at Emory Healthcare. Tricia, thanks for your time. The Emory Healthcare Heart and Vascular Center consistently is recognized by US News and World Report as one of the top heart health centers in the nation. Why such a commitment to heart health?
Patricia Keegan DNP, NP-C (Guest): Well for Emory, heart disease is one of the number one killers of patients in the United States. And so, we do take it very seriously. For our center specifically, we do deal with patients with structural heart disease, which we are seeing growing at astounding numbers as our patient population continues to age.
Host: Right so, can you talk about the coordinated care at the Emory Heart and Vascular Center?
Patricia: Absolutely. We’re very, very lucky to have a number of team members who work together. So, when patients come to the doctor, they typically see just a physician and they may see an office assistant. For us, we have a dedicated team of administrative assistants who help patients throughout their process, as well as dedicated team of nursing. We have a coordinator who helps arrange the testing and the care for the patient who comes into our center as well as, nurse navigators; because we recognize that this entire process can be overwhelming for a patient. We take care of patients from the moment that they are diagnosed with valvular heart disease or structural heart disease, for the rest of life. And that provides a continuity of care that’s not typically seen.
Host: Absolutely. And can you tell us about the heart conditions you treat most?
Patricia: Absolutely. The heart has four major valves. We have an aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonic valve and so we take care of patients who have problems with either stiffness of their heart valve or leakiness of their heart valve as well as other structural problems whether it’s a small hole in the heart or if it is problems with the coronary anatomy as well.
Host: You were talking about valvular and structural heart conditions; can you tell us the difference between those two?
Patricia: Absolutely. When we talk about valvular; it’s a subset of structural heart disease. So, when you see a structural heart center; it is a very all-encompassing evolution of cardiology. We used to send patients to surgeons to be treated for valvular heart disease and now we have special teams, the heart team as it would be; that takes care of these patients. And our heart team is made up of cardiothoracic surgeons, interventional cardiologists, imaging specialists, as well as other subspecialty physicians. Now for our team as well, that includes advanced practice providers, the nursing we discussed before, as well as our administrative assistants.
Host: Okay, so you were just telling us about the teams. Can you also tell us about the advanced treatment options and therapies available at the Heart and Vascular Center?
Patricia: Absolutely. Emory was one of the first sites in the nation to perform a procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement and that’s where instead of doing open heart surgery to fix an aortic valve; we can do it making small incisions in the leg vessels and these patients typically don’t have to go on bypass and have a much faster recovery or a return to baseline with many of our patients going home after one night in the hospital. We also treat mitral valve disease with this same type of therapy where we can even repair using transcatheter options rather than open heart surgery in some patients. We can also do this for tricuspid and pulmonic valve disease as well.
Host: Well, that’s interesting. So, that brings up collaboration again. Can you talk about collaboration between the specialties that you were just mentioning within the Emory Heart and Vascular Center and how that delivers seamless care for all patients?
Patricia: Absolutely. We have our team of interventional cardiologists as well as cardiac surgeons and what we do is when we bring patients in, we have them have some very specific imaging; whether it’s an echocardiogram which is an ultrasound of the heart or a CT scan which is a very specific x-ray; and we take these images and we meet as a heart team to go over each patient’s case. And I think that’s really important because there’s no two patients that are exactly the same. And so, each patient gets this individual care.
Now what makes this even more special, is we have our coordinator and our navigators who are nurses who help really guide patients through the process. So, patients have somebody who is dedicated to them to help them throughout their entire hospitalization as well as even before they come to the hospital. So, you have somebody if you have any questions or concerns, that you can contact.
Now one of the items that makes Emory even more special, is we are what’s called a patient-family-centered care organization. And what that means is that our nurses and our staff are dedicated to making sure that the patient is part of this decision process. So, we don’t have typical visiting hours. We do what’s called bedside rounds which means that the nurses talk in front of the patient, so the patient is always aware of what’s going on with their condition. As well as the family. Emory is also a Magnet designated facility which really helps to align nursing goals and improve patient outcomes. So, when we take this innovative therapy that’s available along with our team-based care and empower nursing to assist in this process; we feel that this helps to improve our patient outcomes.
Host: I love that. Patient-family-centered care. I mean you are taking care of the whole family which is really an important benefit. And Tricia, you’ve mentioned a nurse navigator a couple of times. Can you explain to us what that is?
Patricia: Absolutely. So, we have a navigator who works within our system. Now what’s interesting about this position; it was started in fields like transplant or oncology where these nurses were dedicated to helping patients throughout a long process whether it was setting up visits with various specialties or making sure that they were included throughout the process of being treated for their disease.
And so, we took advantage of this position early on within our organization, specifically for structure heart disease because we understood that a lot of these patients were travelling distances to come to Emory and really needed somebody who was going to be an expert in their care to help them navigate the health system and the disease process. So, when our patients have questions about medications; they can call this nurse or if they have questions about the procedure itself; we have a point of contact. And these nurses work directly with our physicians and our advanced practice providers to ensure that the patients are getting the best possible care.
Host: Well having someone to make the process easier, really seems to make sense. So, if someone is interested in coming to the Heart and Vascular Center; how can they contact you? How can they make an appointment?
Patricia: They can go through our Emory Health Connect and the best number to do that at is area code 404-778-7777 and ask for an appointment with the Structural Heart and Valve Center.
Host: Tricia, thanks so much for your time. For more information, please visit www.emoryhealthcare.org/heart, that’s www.emoryhealthcare.org/heart. And to make an appointment, please call 404-778-7777. Once again, that’s 404-778-7777. You’re listening to Advancing Your Health with Emory Healthcare. I’m Bill Klaproth. Thanks for listening.