PAGE 36
www.theconnectionsnj.com
Spotlight on
“
SeniorS”
39
East Mountain Road
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
Phone: 908-369-8711
Fax: 908-369-0113
www.foothillacres.com
A Pillar in the Community
for over 50 years
Long Term Care • Subacute Care
Respite Care • Hospice Care
Full Equipped Rehab Gym
with hydro-therapy pool
Specialized Care for the
Memory Impaired
Medicare & Medicaid Certified
Private Insurance Contracts
Please visit us for a taste of tranquility
and to experience our “Caring Family”
For more information or to arrange a tour,
please call the Admissions Office.
Our New,
State-of-the-Art
200
Bed Facility
offers
36
Bed
Subacute Unit
164
Long Term
Care Beds
divided into
3
units
• 44
Bed Unit
for Memory
Impairments
(
Dementia/
Alzheimer’s
Disease)
•
Two-60 Bed Units
908-927-0500
Licensed, Bonded & Insured Somerset & Middlesex counties
Our
Transition of Care Program
provides recently discharged
patients with care coordination and oversight to help them
continue their recovery safely at home.
Our
Chronic Disease Management Program
helps prevent
avoidable hospitalizations through careful symptom monitoring
for clients with chronic conditions such as COPD and CHF.
ComForcare
Home Care
Supporting
Independence, Dignity
and
Quality
of Life
•
Safety Supervision
•
Chronic Disease Mgmt
•
Meal Preparation
•
Hourly or Live-in Care
•
Housekeeping Help
•
Bathing/Hygiene
•
Med Reminders
•
Transportation
•
Certified HHAs
•
Fall Prevention
LIFE WITH CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
By: Sharon Bolger, RN, CDON/LTC, Director of Nursing,
Foothill Acres Rehabilitation & Nursing Center
What is Heart Failure (CHF)?
Heart failure means that your heart muscle
doesn’t pump as much blood as your body
needs. Failure doesn’t mean that your heart
has stopped; it means that your heart is not
pumping as well as it should.
Because your heart cannot pump well, your
body tries to make up for it. To do this:
•
Your body holds on to salt and water.
•
Your heart beats faster.
•
Your heart gets bigger.
Your body has an amazing ability to make up
for heart failure. It may do such a good job
that you don’t know you have a disease. But
at some point, your heart and body will no
longer be able to keep up. Then fluid starts to
build up in your body, and you have symp-
toms like feeling weak and out of breath.
This fluid buildup is called congestion. It’s why
some doctors call the disease congestive heart
failure.
Heart failure usually gets worse over time. But
treatment can slow the disease and help you
feel better and live longer.
What causes heart failure?
Anything that damages your heart or affects
how well it pumps can lead to heart failure.
Common causes of heart failure are:
•
High blood pressure.
•
Heart attack.
•
Coronary artery disease.
Other conditions that can lead to heart failure
include:
•
Diabetes.
•
Diseases of the heart muscle
(
cardiomyopathies).
•
Heart valve disease.
•
Disease of the sac around the heart
(
pericardial disease).
•
A slow, fast, or uneven heart rhythm
(
arrhythmia).
•
A heart problem that you were born with
(
congenital heart defect).
•
Long-term alcohol abuse, which can
damage your heart.
Symptoms of Heart Failure
Symptoms of heart failure start to happen
when your heart cannot pump enough blood
to the rest of your body. In the early stages,
you may:
•
Feel tired easily.
•
Be short of breath when you
exert yourself.
•
Feel like your heart is pounding
or racing (palpitations).
•
Feel weak or dizzy.
As heart failure gets worse, fluid starts to
build up in your lungs and other parts of your
body. This may cause you to:
•
Feel short of breath even at rest.
•
Have swelling (edema), especially in your
legs, ankles, and feet.
•
Gain weight. This may happen over just a
day or two, or more slowly.
•
Cough or wheeze.
•
Need to urinate more at night.
•
Feel bloated or sick to your stomach.
If your symptoms suddenly get worse, seek
emergency care.
Foothill Acres Rehabilitation & Nursing
Center, 39 East Mountain Road, Hillsbor-
ough, NJ
offers a comprehensive
Conges-
tive Heart Failure (CHF) Program.
The pri-
mary goal is to educate patients with CHF,
assisting them in living a healthier, longer life.
Our Education Includes
•
Heart Healthy Diet – Residents/Patients
with CHF and/or a history of CHF are
immediately placed on the appropriate
diet
•
The need for daily weights/use of the
scale in keeping accurate records to take
to their cardiologist
•
Signs & Symptoms of Congestive Heart
Failure - each patient is educated on the
changes to look for and when to call MD
•
Medications & their side effects are
reviewed with each patient
•
Discharge instructions, which include
when to follow-up with the MD &
cardiologist
For an individual who is at Foothill Acres for
Subacute Rehabilitation our CHF protocol
includes:
•
Daily weights on all patients with CHF
and/or a history of CHF, which includes
accurate record keeping. This information
is provided to the patient’s MD while they
are at Foothill
•
Heart Healthy Diet
•
Upon discharge, a referral is made to a
home health agency who is equipped to
monitor CHF patients in the home
•
All CHF patients are discharged home
with educational materials, a scale and a
weight book
For more information call (908) 369-8711
or go to www.foothillacres.com
link