Jean Hollinrake serves as a care coordinator for the Remote Patient Monitoring – Home Telehealth (RPM–HT) program at Central Iowa VA in Des Moines. Recently, she noticed that a Veteran with congestive heart failure transmitted an unexpectedly high blood pressure and heart rate.
After calling the Veteran to assess how he was feeling, she recommended he visit the local emergency room. When he was hesitant, Hollinrake contacted his VA social worker to see if they could persuade the Veteran. With that extra encouragement, he went to the ER, and they found he was experiencing supraventricular tachycardia, which can cause the heart to stop altogether.
“Had he not received help when he did, the outcome could have been completely different,” Hollinrake said. “I always tell Veterans I’m not here to replace their care team, but I will always be their cheerleader. We’re all in our health care journeys together.”
