George Largent can’t praise the staff of the Mercy cardiovascular clinic in Joplin, Missouri, enough.
“They’ll pray with you, cry with you, laugh with you, and hold your hand. And then tell you to stop eating salt,” he said, laughing.
Largent, 76, of Joplin, has been a Mercy heart patient since February 2024, when he had triple bypass surgery. He’s a regular patient at the fluid management program, which helps him manage his symptoms and monitor his heart health.
Chesterfield, Missouri-based Mercy has opened nine of these specialized programs for cardiac patients across Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma since September, and plans to open three more.
“Instead of spending several days in the hospital, patients can be treated at one of the new fluid management sites within an hour on average, and then they get to go home,” Dr. Brian Seeck, a Mercy cardiologist in Washington, Missouri, said in a statement.
There, where the program was piloted, it logged more than 300 patient visits in the first few months. “We are improving the care and the lives of our patients. I’m proud to work for a health system that’s dedicated to finding ways to improve patient care,” Seeck said.
The lack of circulation associated with heart failure, in which the heart struggles to efficiently pump blood, causes excess fluid to build up in the feet, ankles and lungs. When oral medication stops working, patients may need intravenous medication to reduce fluids in the body.
The fluid management programs are provided at Mercy cardiovascular clinics, which are typically attached to a hospital.
Reducing admissions
Dr. John Mohart, a cardiologist and Mercy’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said he and other hospital leaders saw a need to treat these patients in a physical setting that was patient-friendly
and cost-effective. He pointed out that congestive heart failure is the leading cause of admission to hospitals in the United States.
“Each hospital admission costs thousands of dollars, whether it’s a government payer or the patient,” he said. “If we can do these treatments in an outpatient setting for less than a couple hundred, because the cost of the medicine alone is very cheap, we get better outcomes and a better experience. It really fits our model of care.”
Mercy Hospital Washington has seen a drop of about 20% in congestive heart failure admissions and readmissions since starting the program in September, Mohart said.
Feedback from patients has been “exceptionally positive,” he said. “We thought it would be for the patients, but what we didn’t anticipate is how excited the providers and the nurses are,” he added.
Staff can see the impact they make on patients as they establish a relationship, and that “has been remarkable,” Mohart said.
Largent, the patient in Joplin, said a typical visit involves a blood draw to see if he needs an IV. He also gets an electrocardiogram. Since he’s diabetic, clinicians keep an eye on his blood sugar as well. They will call him if they detect something after he leaves, and he can always call if he or his wife has questions, he said.
“I feel like I have a place to go to and places to respond to should we have questions or need help,” he said. “My experience with them has been absolutely perfect.”
He used to visit the clinic every 10 days, but now that he’s improving, he visits monthly.
“I do have a complaint,” he said, tongue in cheek. “When they scheduled me a month out, I said, ‘Now ladies, what am I going to do for a social life?’”
He feels grateful for the level of care he’s received from a group of people who have become like family. “Obviously, I trust them with my life,” he said.