Lafrieda Coleman RN provides exemplary care to her patients. She is in the outpatient setting in a special situation where she can really spend quality time teaching patients about their chronic condition of Heart Failure. She gives the patients her cell phone number so that they can call her at any time if they are having problems. She has become their first call; therefore, she is able to direct them to the caregiver or resource that the patient needs. Lafrieda works with a team of a Nurse Practitioner, another RN and a Pharmacist. She and her teammates display stream less teamwork in caring for their patients. Nurse Practitioners from all over the country have called and asked for guidance in how to emulate this model of care exhibited at this Nurse Practitioner- led Heart Failure Disease Management Clinic. Lafrieda has been integral in providing outside the box care, such as group visits, dietary classes for her patients where the patients watched food being made with low sodium ingredients and taste tested the food. Lafrieda is now contributing to a toolkit for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on how to create a Nurse Practitioner-led Heart Failure Disease Management Clinic. Lafrieda, lately, has referring patients to resources for detox and drug rehab for alcohol and drug abuse; therefore, she takes care of the “whole” patient – not just their heart failure. Lafrieda has also called patients from her home phone after hours when she is particularly worried about them to make sure they are Okay.
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