The Moore Regional Hospital Foundation has awarded $55,000 to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital's community diabetes and heart failure programs to assist patients in managing their chronic illnesses.

"We have some patients who do not have insurance, or if they have insurance, they can't afford the co-payments for all of their medications or testing supplies," says Jeany Copley, a registered nurse who is coordinator of the Community Diabetes Program. "I've had several patients who have cried, because they were so happy that somebody cared, that somebody was willing to help them.

"I am proud to be a part of this program, because it makes so much difference in people's lives."

Copley has calculated that her program helped diabetes patients avoid 208 hospital admissions and 124 Emergency Department visits over the past year by assisting them in managing their disease.

This helps improve their overall quality of life while providing a substantial cost savings for the hospital.

The Community Diabetes Program currently follows 125 patients. About the same number of patients are in the Community Heart Failure Program. (The term "heart failure" means the heart isn't pumping as well as it should.)

Obtain Resources

The Community Heart Failure Program helps patients in the community obtain the education and resources necessary to maintain their health and prevent complications, thereby improving their overall quality of life.

"Both the heart failure and diabetes programs help put patients in touch with available resources as well as assisting them until these resources can be put into place," says Debbie Marcum, a registered nurse who is coordinator of the Community Heart Failure Program.

While some people have diabetes and others have heart failure, there are some who suffer from both conditions. Sharon Saunders, a registered nurse, coordinates the assistance program for these patients, using money from both the Community Diabetes and Community Heart Failure programs.

She follows about the same number of patients as each of the other programs.

"One of the nice things about our program is that we are able to meet some patients while they are in the hospital and others are referred from outside sources," Saun-ders says. "We make initial home visits to assess what their specific needs are and how we can help."

It is estimated that together the heart failure and heart failure/diabetes programs have helped patients avoid more than 1,200 hospital admissions and Emergency Department visits since December 2001.

People who see any First-Health physician or are patients at any of the three FirstHealth hospitals are eligible for assistance through the diabetes or heart failure programs. The three program coordinators are members of the Clinical Performance department at Moore Regional.

"I think it's wonderful that FirstHealth of the Carolinas provides these free programs for the people in our community," Marcum says.

"As a member of the Moore Regional Hospital Foundation, it is a privilege to participate in projects such as these," says Dick Keener, chairman of the Moore Regional Hospital Foundation Grant Review Com-mittee. "Through the generous contributions of our community, the Foundation is proud to sponsor projects, from home health care, to staff education, to equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of our patients.

"The generosity of this community over the years has allowed Moore Regional Hospital to continue to provide high-quality health care services, which are recognized as among the best in the country."

'Increase Justified'

This year's Moore Regional Hospital Foundation allocation to the Community Heart Failure program is 11 percent more than last year's grant.

The grant to the Community Diabetes Program is 40 percent higher.

"I felt that the increase was justified, because it seems the diabetic population has skyrocketed, and the costs of medicines and testing supplies are always going up," Copley says.

The Moore Regional Hospital Foundation also awarded $4,000 to provide scholarships for four Emergency Department nurses to attend the Emergency Nurses Association national conference in San Antonio in September. According to Dotty Kuell, a registered nurse who is manager of the Emergency Department at Moore Regional, the conference has been a valuable experience for the hospital's nurses who have attended it in the past.

"They always come back very energized and with lots of great ideas for how to do things better," Kuell says.