AMC Cardiac Rehabilitation assists cardiac patients

The Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit at Acadian Medical Center opened its doors in October 2015. This department, located next door to the hospital inside the Physicians Plaza, at 3521 Hwy. 190, involves a special program designed for individuals with cardiovascular disease.
In charge and director, Nurse Navigator Ronald P. Callegari, II, along with Jeanne Buller, LPNT, exercise specialist, assists cardiac patients’ physical, psychological and social functioning needs.
Why does a cardio patient need rehabilitation, and what is cardiovascular rehabilitation? Cardiovascular rehabilitation is a medically supervised program designed to optimize a cardiac patient’s physical, psychological and social functioning, in addition to stabilizing, slowing, or even reversing the progression of underlying cardiovascular disease processes, thereby reducing death and disability.
Callegari is responsible for the addition of this service to the already existing cardiovascular service line. “I’m responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day unit operations from a managerial standpoint, as well as a portion of direct patient care. Jeanne Buller, LPNT, is our exercise specialist, and has been very instrumental in this start up as well.”
Cardiovascular rehabilitation’s purpose is to “re-condition” patients who have experienced certain cardiovascular related health events through a prescribed therapy regimen. “We also strive to help patients to modify those cardiovascular risk factors that got them into trouble in the first place,” said Callegari.
Callegari said that the main focus of the department is secondary prevention of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks. “We also offer, to some degree, a bit of primary prevention via our Cardio Direct Phase III program for folks who have risk factors, but have not yet had a qualifiying event,” said Callegari.
The cardiac rehabilitation department program is administered on the hospital’s campus in the outpatient therapy department. “There we utilize equipment such as recumbent bikes, steppers, treadmills, total body exercisers, free weights, etc, for our patients,” said Callegari.
One may ask, are there any costs involved with the program? According to Callegari, “Phase II outpatient Cardiac Rebab is covered by Medicare and most private insurances. Phase III is a maintenance program and a self-pay program with a reasonable monthly fee. Anyone with a doctor’s order can participate in Phase III maintenance program.”
Callegari comes to the department with 20-plus-years of clinical experience with the last 16 years in cardiovascular patient care.
Buller earned a bachelors of science in sports medicine from University of Southwestern Louisiana-Lafayette, and has been working in cardiac rehab for the past 16 years.