At Logansport Memorial Hospital, we are always striving to provide the best, and most up-to-date, care for our patients, in all aspects of their visit. Updating technology and care systems plays a big role in providing that high standard of care. Our most recent improvement in our cardiac and pulmonary rehab department is a new system that benefits both our staff and patients.
The new system
The cardiac and pulmonary rehab team is now using VersaCare. This system allows for the staff to enter patient information and progress updates from an iPad, right in front of the patient. The older system was labor intensive, and progress notes and patient updates had to be entered in on a computer away from the patient. By using an iPad, the cardiac and pulmonary rehab team can monitor each patient while completing their progress notes right then and there. Overall, this new system allows for a more efficient and effective rehabilitation care for patients and staff.
How it benefits patients
Patients are getting more accurate overall care. VersaCare's ability to monitor the patients can help our staff recognize when a patient might be struggling, and can help the team go back and see right when the problem started to occur.
Benefits for our staff
VersaCare is less labor intensive for the rehabilitation staff. Note taking becomes extremely efficient, making it easier for staff, which ultimately improves the patient experience. According to our Manager of Cardiopulmonary Services Denice Townsend, this system is a great addition to our hospital's effort in updating technology.
"This system makes us more modern. Instead of writing notes on paper, or running back to the desk to enter it in the computer, we can be right there with the patient with an iPad to monitor their rehabilitation. It brings us forward in documentation and care, and keeps us up to date with technology. And when we launch with Cerner, it will all flow into one system, which will be a huge advantage for all."
VersaCare and Cerner
Our hospital plans to go live with our new EMR system, Cerner, in May. Once we have officially transitioned into the new program, there will be additional benefits to using VersaCare.
"Once we launch Cerner, everything will be in one place. A doctor can pull up their patient and see everything they were doing in their rehabilitation. This will efficient for staff, but more importantly, a huge benefit for patients."
The VersaCare system will flow directly into Cerner, allowing for a complete patient history to be readily available to the patient's physician. All of the medical history, from primary to specialty care to lab work and rehab will be all in one place. Physicians can even see what patients are doing, their vitals/weight, and how their lungs sound daily. This will help staff and physician offices to better communicate which in turn provides patients with a thorough patient history in order to receive the best care. The implementation of Cerner, with the benefits of VersaCare, will benefit everyone - both staff and patients.
Celebrating our rehabilitation staff
Cardiac Rehabilitation Week
Cardiac Rehabilitation Week was initiated by the American Association of 
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) to focus attention on cardiac rehabilitation's contribution to the improvement of the health and physical performance of individuals at risk for heart disease and/or those individuals diagnosed with heart disease or dysfunction. In honor of our cardiac and pulmonary rehab team, we celebrate Go Red Day 
house-wide, wearing red to support the cause and raising funds for our cardiac and pulmonary team.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week
National Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week was initiated by the AACVPR to focus national attention on pulmonary rehabilitation's contribution 
to enhancing the lives of individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). AACVPR believes that greater visibility is needed for the chronic pulmonary patient who constantly lives with shortness of breath and faces a future of declining health.
We are thankful for our pulmonary rehab team that provides our patients with high-quality care, right here at home, so that they can live their lives to the healthiest level.
Cardiac and pulmonary rehab care at LMH
Cardiac Rehab helps patients return to their normal lives after a cardiac event. Supervised exercise programs help increase stamina, endurance, energy, and overall health. Group exercise can also help provide motivation and the opportunity to build new friendships.
Pulmonary Rehab is designed to control, reduce, and alleviate the symptoms and complications of chronic pulmonary disease. Our program teaches patients how to reach the highest possible level of independent functioning for activities of daily living within the limitations of their pulmonary disease.
If you have been diagnosed or are at-risk for heart and blood vessel disease, talk to your physician about cardiac rehab care. If you have been diagnosed or are at-risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or another lung condition, talk to your physician about pulmonary rehab care. You can also learn more about our services, here. Have questions about our cardiac and pulmonary rehab care? Call 574.753.1405 for more information.
