We are pleased to introduce our "Hearts in Action"
Congestive Heart Failure Support Group Kit which is your personal blueprint for implementing a CHFsupport group for
your patients.
We believe that there is a need to underscore the importance of medical management and prevention of heart disease.
We also believe that this CHF support group project, through dynamic patient education and support, will help to reduce costs
and contribute to patient satisfaction. Please utilize the accompanying files to personalize this project for your practice and your patients. If you have questions, please contact us.
On behalf of the Indiana Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and our patients with congestive heart failure,
we are grateful to the following committee members for developing this program:
Cynthia Adams, RN, MSN, CS
Clifford C. Hallam, MD, FACC
Amy C. Kaissar, MD
Mark A. O’Shaughnessy,
MD, FACC
Mary Norine Walsh, MD, FACC
Gwen J. Goldfarb, executive director, Indiana-ACC
Getting
Started
Successful support groups require both a nursing facilitator and dynamic patients. It would also be
a good idea to include the patient’s spouse/support person in the support group process.
Once you have the framework in place, the next step is setting the agendas for your CHF Support Group and identifying
a venue at which to hold your meetings. We suggest you publicize your CHF Support Group to your patient base through waiting
room literature and by contacting your referring primary care physicians. You may also want to consider submitting a news
release to your local media.
We’ve laid the groundwork for you.
- Sample brochure that you can personalize
for your practice and have printed for your patients. If you do not have a print vendor, please call the Chapter office at
(866) 44-INACC for assistance.
- Sample letter to send to your
referring primary care physicians.
- Sample letter to garner
support in your community.
- Sample news release for your local
media.
- Sample CHF support group topics and agendas.
- List of recommended CHF educational pieces.
We hope that you find this CHF Support Group Kit to be helpful and meaningful for you and your patients.
