Media release from Atrium Health Floyd:
The opening of the Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Clinic at Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center was a game-changing, quality-of-life improver for Polk County resident Ken Jolly.
Two years ago, getting an infusion of iron meant Jolly had to clear his schedule for at least two days, pack for an overnight stay and drive more than 80 miles to Fayetteville, Ga.
Jolly said the drive alone took about two hours and 15 minutes, putting a severe cramp in his fishing schedule. There were times when the overnight stay was in a hospital room or hotel room, adding more cost to the money he was already spending on fuel and meals.
All that changed when he began being treated at the Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) Clinic at Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center. The drive is now just 12 miles, and the quick turnaround gives him plenty of time to hit the lake with his rod and reel.
The Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center CHF clinic recently was recognized by the Georgia Hospital Association for their work in identifying and treating iron deficiencies in patients like Jolly. The care team received a first-place Patient Safety and Quality Award in the Critical Access Hospitals Category.
Jolly, whose iron levels are complicated by a melanoma diagnosis and a gastrointestinal bleed, was getting infusions every three to five days. The long drive to Fayetteville was exhausting.
“Now, I just walk in the doors, and they take over,” he said.
The team at the Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center CHF Clinic has become like family to him, the retired educator and coach said.
“They are always real nice to me, and I have gotten to know all of them,” he said. “They were all real sweet to me, getting me coffee or a drink. Once they went and got me breakfast because I had missed mine.”
Jolly began reciprocating, bringing donuts and candy made by his wife to the staff.
“It got to where we loved them,” he said.
His care team and the care they provide are making a difference. When he first began treatment at the Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center CHF Clinic, Jolly was coming twice weekly for iron transfusions. Now, he goes monthly for lab tests, and he hasn’t needed an infusion in nearly two months.
Iron deficiency is an often overlooked but highly impactful contributor to worsening congestive heart failure symptoms, according to Brandi Skeen, director of performance improvement for Atrium Health Floyd.
“Implementing onsite IV iron therapy and strengthening processes for routine iron monitoring means patients no longer face long travel times or missed opportunities for treatment,” she said. “These changes help patients experience better energy levels, improved functional status and have fewer hospitalizations related to heart failure complications.
“Ultimately, the project brings specialty-level cardiac support directly into the rural community,” she said.
For Jolly, that means less time on the road, less expense and more time doing what he loves.
“Everything is turning out good,” he said. “I’ve turned a corner, and I’m getting better, better and better. When I first started going to the doctor they were rolling me in in a wheelchair. I got so tired, so quickly. Then, I moved to cane. I don’t use either one of them now.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s losing touch with the CHF clinic staff.
“I have to go by and see them every now and then,” Jolly chuckled. “They are so good to me. Not only me, but I have also watched them being good to other people.
“I’m blessed, not only by God, but by my friends and my coworkers and what I call my family of health people. They’ve all been good, but I’m really impressed with the knowledge of the Atrium Health people in Cedartown. They are on the ball, and they do it with a loving-type purpose. It’s not just business. It just feels real good to be around them.”
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