WMC’s Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab is second to none
Our Cardiac Rehab is accredited by the AACVPR – the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehab.
This demonstrates that our department practices and provides the highest standard recognized in the industry.
Cardiac Rehab
There’s a reason the cardiac rehabilitation classes at Williamson Medical Center’s Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab Center have had a waiting list several weeks long since their inception nearly 10 years ago.
There are also reasons patients who have had a cardiac event, from bypass surgery to stents placed at hospitals across Middle Tennessee — actually wait.
Yes, it’s because of the life-changing therapy they receive as a part of the 12-week program, but it’s more than that. It’s the hugs. The smiles. The laughter. The friendships. So many friendships, in fact, the department hosts a cardiac rehab reunion each year that draws a hundred or more graduates of the program who come back year after year to hug the therapists and say thanks one more time.
The 12-week program teaches lifestyle changes, diet and stress management. The long-range goal being to help cardiac patients learn to live and continue to maintain an active, healthy lifestyle.
Not only does the program help a person get moving again after surgery, but it helps them know at what pace they need to go. We can give them the confidence they need to get back to walking or racquetball or whatever they enjoy doing by getting them started in a safe, monitored environment. And we can push them a little harder if they are ready for that. Read more about cardiac rehab.
Pulmonary Rehab
Pulmonary Rehab is for anyone with a serious lung disease such as COPD, pulmonary fibrosis or pulmonary hypertension, among others, according to the program’s director, Devin Sherman, M.D. The program offered here at WMC is a first for Williamson County and serves a wide range of lung disease patients.
“The really difficult part about having bad lung disease is that you can be constantly short of breath,” Sherman said. “Because of that, it feels very hard to exercise, but staying in shape is very important. In order to make your particular situation as good as it can be, you need to keep in as good aerobic shape as possible.”
Because exercise can be difficult; even scary for some, WMC’s Pulmonary Rehab is designed to provide expert care as you learn how to exercise during the six-week program and also how to continue an exercise program on your own after the rehab portion.
In addition to exercising with exercise physiologists, the program works closely with respiratory therapists who also focus on education with topics ranging from smoking cessation and how to properly use an inhaler.
“Everyone who completes the program feels better when they are finished and if the program is successful, people will continue to work on the skills they learned after they leave,” Sherman said. “Ultimately we want improve symptoms and keep people out of the hospital.”
After the completion of the pulmonary rehab program, participants are encouraged to engage in classes at the YMCA or their local recreation center as well as exercising at home with heart rate and oxygen monitors that can be purchased at many large retailers.
Both pulmonary and cardiac rehab services are located on WMC’s campus.