Getting Started
This focus area will walk you through the necessary first steps for launching a quality improvement initiative aimed at increasing cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation.
CR has been proven to greatly improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs, yet patient participation in CR remains low. Increasing referral and enrollment in CR requires hospitals to lay the foundation for implementing process change, including making the case to leadership, mapping current processes, and collecting baseline data.
Participation in CR leads to a 20% reduction in heart-related death and illness, and a 28% lower risk for hospital readmissions.
This set of training materials can help your hospital with the following foundational steps:
- Making the case to leadership
- Creating a multi-disciplinary team
- Identifying goals
- Developing an action plan
- Adjusting workflow processes
- Collecting baseline data
Consolidated Curriculum for Getting Started
This curriculum combines the content from four of the original TAKEheart on-line virtual trainings into:
- a single slide deck that can be customized by users for their own educational or training purposes
- a consolidated implementation guide that provides detailed actionable guidance for implementing the strategies described in the PPT presentation
- a comprehensive resource guide with links to supplemental tools and a comprehensive reference list.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Read the USER'S GUIDE (PDF, 416 KB) to learn about how to get the most of out of these materials.
Original TAKEheart Training Modules
The consolidated curriculum for Getting Started is a streamlined and restructured set of training materials drawn from four training modules that were originally presented live to a group of hospitals working in real time to implement strategies to increase patient participation in CR.
Hospitals wishing to take a deeper dive into one or more of the topics covered in the consolidated curriculum can view recordings of the expert-led trainings and download the accompanying presentation slides and implementation guides from these four training modules:
- Training Module 1: Welcome to the TAKEheart Initiative and the Benefits of Improving Cardiac Rehabilitation
- Training Module 2: Systems Change: Laying the Foundation, Leadership, and Action Plans
- Training Module 3: Systems Change: Understanding Your Workflow Processes to Prepare for System Change
- Training Module 4: Systems Change: Preparing and Understanding Your Data to Foster Systems Change
Related Webinars From the TAKEheart Learning Community
TAKEheart Learning Community webinars, held between 2020–2022, featured discussions among CR experts and CR champions from diverse hospitals on wide-ranging strategies for improving CR program operations and addressing patient needs. Recorded versions of these webinars as well as the accompanying slides and event summaries are available for download.
Learning Community webinars relating to the topics covered in the "Getting Started" Training Curriculum include:
Leveraging Data To Enhance Your CR Program
- Hicham Skali, MD, MSc, TAKEheart Principal Investigator, Associate Director of the Cardiac Rehab Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine (Moderator)
- Matt Thomas, MS, MBA, ACSM-CEP, Cardiopulmonary Rehab and Employee Fitness, CHI – Memorial Hospital, Chattanooga, TN
- Julianne DeAngelis, MS CCRP, CEP, Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute, Miriam and Newport Hospitals, Providence, RI
This Learning Community webinar was designed to explore the collection and use of data within CR programs. Effective use of data is essential for CR programs and foundational to automatic referral systems and enhanced care coordination.
Video: Leveraging Data To Enhance Your Cardiac Rehabilitation Program (1:01:11)
Slides: Leveraging Data to Enhance your CR Program (PDF, 1 MB)
Event Summary: Affinity Group Details at-a-Glance: Leveraging Data to Enhance Your CR Program (PDF, 272 KB)
Maximizing Physician Support for Cardiac Rehab
- Stephen Hines, Ph.D., TAKEheart's Training and Technical Assistance Lead, Principal Associate, Abt Associates (Moderator)
- Katelyn King, MSEP, CCRP, Transitions of Care Coordinator, Cardiovascular Critical Care Services, University of Kentucky Healthcare
- Christine L. Bryant, BSN RN, Cardiac Rehab/Heart Failure Nurse Manager, Prairie Heart Institute at HSHS St. John's Hospital, ISCHR Board- Membership/Retention Chair
- Marion Harris-Barter, RN, BSN, M.Ed., CCRP, System Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Lee Health
This Learning Community webinar was designed to share insights about how to reinforce the value of CR and work collaboratively with physicians to raise referral and retention rates. Successes and challenges in expanding efforts to maximize physician support for CR are also discussed.
Video: Maximizing Physician Support for Cardiac Rehabilitation (59:46)
Slides: Maximizing Physician Support for Cardiac Rehabilitation (PDF, 1 MB)
Event Summary: Affinity Group Details at-a-Glance: Maximizing Physician Support for Cardiac Rehabilitation (PDF, 289 KB)
