Healthy Lives Program

RWJBarnabas Health’s Healthy Lives program brings together a multidisciplinary team of medical experts to effectively monitor heart failure, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia patients. The program is designed to provide interventions to manage symptoms and prevent the need for emergency care or hospital readmissions.

The program is dedicated to helping patients and caregivers in our community become more actively involved in their care through education, access to a multidisciplinary team, and consistent follow up with a cardiac or pulmonary professional. Through this active participation, patients will improve their functionality and quality of life, while reducing the frequency of hospitalizations.

Program Details

Patients are initially assessed by an experienced nurse practitioner. The program provides a patient-centered care approach to early management of the disease process. The nurse practitioner works individually with patients and their families to enhance their understanding of the disease and provide the tools for patients and caregivers to effectively manage the disease process.

This program also features a nationally-renowned telehealth monitoring program in collaboration with the VNA Health Group to monitor heart failure patients. The program is designed to help patients receive treatment at home, improve their quality of life and reduce the likelihood for a trip to the emergency room or re-hospitalization.

Important components of the Healthy Lives Program include:

• Education and support for patients and caregivers.
• Help for patients to manage symptoms.
• Help for patients to manage risk factors, such as cholesterol, blood pressure and diet.
• Help for patients and caregivers to ensure medication compliance.
• Reduced visits to the emergency department.
• Prevention of hospitalization.
• Increased patient activity level and quality of life.
• Access to social services, clinical nutrition, cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

Our Multidisciplinary Team Provides Comprehensive Care

The Healthy Lives Program is managed by a multidisciplinary team comprising:

• Cardiologists
• Primary care physicians
• Advanced practice nurses with extensive cardiac experience
• Critical care registered nurses
• Pharmacists
• Nutritionists
• Social workers and case managers
• Behavioral health professionals

Access to the Latest Medical and Clinical Research

RWJBarnabas Health's Heart, Vascular and Thoracic program is proud to provide patients with the opportunity to have access to the latest technology and medical advancements via participation in some of the most renowned clinical studies offered. Clinical studies help bridge research and patient care by evaluating therapies, drugs and diagnostic tools to drive discoveries into clinical practice. To learn more about our clinical trials, please visit our Clinical Trials page.