Carolyn Thornton
It was Thanksgiving, and Carolyn was busy making cinnamon buns, one of her son’s favorites. "That was when the big ones came," said Carolyn. Although she had been experiencing palpitations on and off for a while, she knew these were different. She immediately went to see her doctor and was diagnosed with myocarditis and congestive heart failure.
After Carolyn was discharged from the hospital, a Partners Home Care nurse visited her home with equipment that would allow her to be monitored remotely. Carolyn was trained to use the equipment - to monitor her blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry, and weight - and then to send the data to her nurse on a daily basis.
"At first I thought, ‘oh my gosh, will I remember how to do this?’ But it was no problem, because it was very easy."
Over the next few months, Carolyn used the equipment to monitor her physiologic status, and received a call-back from a nurse about an hour after the data was relayed. "It was very reassuring to me, getting the call-back. Any questions I had were answered, they were right there to answer them."
The data feedback and education about her own health is one of the benefits of home monitoring services. When Carolyn’s blood pressure was too low, she was offered immediate medical attention. "If it were just up to me, I might think it will just go away, or it will get better…I was very fortunate."
As for her children who live hundreds of miles away, "it eased their minds too because I live alone," said Carolyn.
The Center for Connected Health and Partners Home Care collaborated to provide these remote-monitoring services to home care patients with congestive heart failure. Patients were part of a study to determine the effectiveness of remote-monitoring services coupled with daily feedback and education.
The study determined that patients who received these services required fewer nurse home visits and had fewer hospital re-admissions. Patients also reported significant improvements in quality of life.
Carolyn with Partners Home Care nurse, Kris, at home
with her monitoring devices.