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Volume 8, Issue 9 (Suppl)

J Clin Exp Cardiolog, an open access journal

ISSN: 2155-9880

Euro Cardiology 2017

October 16-18, 2017

October 16-18, 2017 | Budapest, Hungary

European

Cardiology

Conference

J Clin Exp Cardiolog 2017, 8:9(Suppl)

DOI: 10.4172/2155-9880-C1-078

A first 6-month report on VAD coordination in CHC Zagreb, Croatia- results, problems, goals

Crnković Dubravka

and

Habeković Renata

CHC Zagreb, Croatia

entricular Assist Device (VAD) coordination in CHC Zagreb, Cardiac Surgery Dept., Croatia started with its work in

April 2017. Our major responsibility is to provide clinical consultation and VAD specific education to patients, families,

multidisciplinary teammembers, hospital staff, and community based providers as needed (EMS, Family medicine Physicians),

coordinate and manage outpatient care of the VAD patient, facilitate the access and utilization of community resources and

organizations to assist in patient's recovery and serve as the liaison and communication link between VAD patients and

their families with community. Most important responsibility is in deciding optimal care decisions for this complex patient

population, coordinating discharge plans for patients post VAD implant, deciding about driveline fixation and care and

follow up after implant in patient’s home. Problems that we have is in lack of staff working in VAD coordination, lack of the

national database for Mechanical Circulatory Support, these patients are still invisible for most health professionals, goverment

agencies, have problems with receiveing VAD dressing supplies to appropriately care for their VAD. Our goals are to expand

our education and outreach from initial contact, through the work-up for implant, and during the pre-operative, peri-operative

and post-operative period. The VAD Coordinator will follow-up in the outpatient/ambulatory care setting, ensuring continuity

of care across the VAD/Transplant continuum. Also development of outreach programs regarding VAD is very important

for health care providers, patient groups, community organizations, goverment agencies, and also general public. It is very

necessary to make VAD recipients visible to general public, because congestive heart failure becomes more and more present

and an increasingly important public health problem.