Thanks to all of you for your input. Please not I am an accredited visitor with St Mary's Medical Center. I intend to keep my training up to date and keep my hospital credentials current. However, my purpose is not to visit patients in the hospital. My purpose is to reach out to folks that are not plugged into the system. Heart patients that live in Montana near Yellowstone, or folks that live near Cannon AFB near Clovis New Mexico. Heart patients that have never heard of Mended Hearts and are on their own trying to cope with all the things we have, but they have little or no support system. If I can give one person a website, or a phone number to a point of contact to help make their quality of life one step better then I think I am on the right track. I have ideas of what to do, and I have some information to pass on. I will try to post all of this on the forum or email local chapters with thing within their area. I am still in the planning stages and it will be several months before we hit the road. Please continue to provide your ideas and concerns because that will help me stay in my lane and not cross any legal lines.
Richard Short
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Richard Short
Mended Hearts Chapter 395
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-23-2018 09:30
From: Ralph Warren
Subject: Traveling "Heart"
Brent is right, but allow me to carry that one step further...what really comes into play here are HIPAA Privacy Regulations. All of the hospitals I deal with are strict adherents to those and very protective of their patients, there's a lot of potential liability here for the hospital. Over the years, and with our Chapter's relations with doctors we are able to operate a visitor program at most hospitals locally, but there are still a couple holdouts. Additionally, every hospital I am a visitor at has a process that you must go through their training and screening programs before being certified over and above the requirements of Mended Hearts training. In short, great idea, but you likely will be thwarted by HIPAA law and other governing rules.
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Warren
Tucson
Original Message:
Sent: 02-23-2018 08:54
From: Brent Zepke
Subject: Traveling "Heart"
Dear Traveling Heart,
Nice idea. The way I see the problem is you are an unknown to the medical facilities and chapters you will be visiting. From the perspective of the medical facilities it takes a leap of faith to permit anyone to enter their facility and interact with their patients when the patients believe that anyone one entering their room has been pre-screened by the facility. The members of the local Mended Hearts chapter have established that trust with the facility but do not know you.
The challenge seems to be to somehow establish these trusts.
This is simply my opinion: hope it is helpful.
Brent Zepke
Original Message------
My wife and I are going to be living in an RV full time and as a certified visitor I will be staying with my Chapter and doing phone and email visits. I am also planning to set up meetings and visits at RV parks as we travel about. I have tried to get someone at Mended Hearts HQ to assist, but my idea seems to be throwing them a curve ball. We plan to start this adventure in June or July. We will try to assist any other group or any folks near where ever we are on any given week. This can also give us a chance to get to some people that are living in rural areas. If any one thinks this is a good idea I would enjoy feedback or ideas. I will be using the forum and my chapter email to keep records and hopefully recruit mambers at large if we are unable to plug folks into a chapter near them.
Richard Short
Barstow CA