Florida Hospital Opens Clinic for Heart Failure Patients to Improve Care, Reduce Readmissions

Florida Hospital announces the opening of the Heart Success Center, a multidisciplinary practice for heart failure patients designed to improve care, reduce hospital readmissions and lower health care costs.

Insured patients will have access to physicians, case managers, palliative care, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nutritionists and transitional care nurses at a single location at Florida Hospital Orlando's Health Village campus.

After returning home from the hospital, heart failure patients often have medical issues that need to be addressed before they are able to been seen by their cardiologist. In many cases, the patients return to the Emergency Department because they have nowhere else to go, said Dr. Nirav Raval, medical director of thoracic transplant at Florida Hospitals Transplant Institute.

The Heart Success Center will ensure that heart failure patients have a place to turn in lieu of the Emergency Department, and will provide a bridge for their health care until they are able to get an appointment with their cardiologist. This strategy is a supplement to the patient's well-established physician and will not replace their provider. I am proud of the cardiologists within the Florida Hospital system for supporting this adjunct service in addition to their excellent care.

Patients can be seen the day after they are released from an acute-care facility, in urgent-care situations requiring triage of heart failure symptoms, and on an as-needed basis. The services will not take the place of primary care or primary cardiology care, and will be provided in conjunction with patients health care providers.

We are always looking for opportunities to increase our community's access to health care, improve the quality and experience of care, and also reduce the costs of care, said Kimberly Dawson, assistant vice president of operations with Florida Hospitals Cardiovascular Institute. Not only is the Heart Success Center physically, mentally, emotionally and financially beneficial to the patient, but it will have a positive impact on the overall health care system.

The Heart Success Center is located in the Florida Hospital Orlando Medical Plaza Building, 2501 N. Orange Ave., Suite 542.

While the Heart Success Center is for insured patients, Florida Hospital also provides options for the uninsured. The Trina Hidalgo Heart Care Center has been providing free care and medication to those suffering from cardiovascular disease for 10 years.