ROCHELLE — Rochelle Community Hospital Fitness Center Assistant Katherine Slattengren has been working her way back from a recent triple bypass heart surgery at a familiar place: In the RCH Cardiac Rehab program in the hospital’s fitness center, where she works.
Slattengren recently made a trip to her doctor’s office with symptoms of low energy and chest pain. She was prescribed a stress test, which she was unable to pass. An angiogram followed, which showed problems with three arteries.
“I had to have a triple bypass surgery at St. Anthony Medical Center,” Slattengren said. “I had no clue. Dr. Vogeler here is my doctor. Thank goodness she caught it. Otherwise, my surgeon told me I would've been dead in a month. I come here for physical therapy three times a week. Now I know what it's like to be on the other end of my work. The nurses here are wonderful. They truly care about their patients. I know they care about me a lot. It's good to come somewhere where you feel welcome and at home.”
February is American Heart Month, and the RCH Cardiac Rehab program and the hospital as a whole are looking to raise awareness of heart illness and lifestyle changes that can prevent it.
As a fitness assistant in the RCH fitness center, which also houses the cardiac rehab unit, Slattengren takes in memberships, shows new members how to use equipment, asks what their goals are and helps them achieve them.
“I try to meet them every day with a positive, uplifting attitude so it gives them inspiration to keep going at it,” Slattengren said. “I like to motivate. I retired from being a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital and private practice. This is my fun job in retirement. I wanted to have something to do and get out and help people. I like to keep busy.”
Slattengren said being an RCH cardiac rehab patient is comforting for her, because she already knew everyone she’d be working with. Doing her rehab locally helped her meet her goals she wanted to achieve. When the time came for her to start cardiac rehab, Slattengren asked to do it in Rochelle.
“It means everything to me to have access to all of these services for my heart here where I live,” Slattengren said. “All of the doctors here that I've met and heard about from friends are really great doctors. They really go out of their way to make the patient feel important here.”
Amid American Heart Month, Slattengren hopes that those with symptoms and health concerns like she had will seek medical care before their condition worsens.
“I would tell someone who isn't feeling right like I was to make an appointment and have it checked out right away,” Slattengren said. “Don't think that you can just ignore it or hope that it will go away. If you're not feeling up to par, you really need to go see a doctor. Even if nothing ends up being wrong, or if it is something, it will just ease your mind. Even though I found out I had to have triple bypass surgery, I at least knew what I was dealing with and I could prepare.”
RCH Cardiac Rehab RN Ellee Myers urged members of the community to be cognizant of their health, not just during Heart Month. She wants people to use RCH as the local resource it is to change their lifestyles. Using RCH’s fitness center and dietician service can save residents trips to Rockford or other neighboring towns.
Myers has seen first hand how RCH’s Cardiac Rehab program can help patients improve their lives in recovery from heart attacks and illnesses.
“It’s seeing somebody who couldn't walk through the parking lot at a grocery store without getting winded get to spending 15 minutes on an elliptical working up a sweat and thinking it's a good thing,” Myers said. “That is so fulfilling as a healthcare worker to see that improvement. It's everyday life changes. After being here, people can walk through parking lots, breathe again, and play with their grandchildren when they couldn't before. That's really nice to see. Almost every single one of our patients starts to get that endurance back so they can just live.”
RCH Emergency Department Technician Jeremy Mumm spends most of his time in ER treating patients, but also picks up shifts on occasion in the cardiac rehab program. There, he’s able to see patients on the road to recovery.
“It's kind of cool if I take care of a heart attack patient in the ER and then months later, I fill in shifts here and I can see their progress.” Mumm said. “I'm a one-to-one person. When someone has a cardiac event here, we get them taken care of and shipped out to higher care as fast as we can. When I work in cardiac rehab, I work one-to-one and get to know them a little bit better and see their progress. I see them at their worst when they're first coming in and then I get to see them grow here and help them graduate through the program and be healthier and get their heart stronger.”
RCH Cardiopulmonary Manager Jacqui Ranken said cardiac rehab program graduates are offered a free month of membership to the hospital’s fitness center to continue healthy living habits.
“We want them to continue their routine and continue to stay healthy,” Ranken said. “I like to think that our prices here are reasonable, for seniors especially, to use the facility. That's always great to see them continue to come in. We get to see them and see how they're doing. We make forever relationships with our cardiac rehab patients.”
