Agrace's Care for Heart Failure

Thursday, April 22, 2021

• Read or download our Cardiac Patient and Caregiver guide here. Read it in Spanish here.
• Download a cardiac care symptom tracker here. Get the Spanish version here.
• Contact Agrace about cardiac care here.

To offer more support for patients with advanced heart disease, Agrace has collaborated with the American Heart Association (AHA) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) on an Advanced Cardiac Care (ACC) Program to address one of the nation’s largest killers of Americans – heart disease. Agrace Hospice Care is one of the first hospices in the country to join this effort.

As part of the program, our clinical staff receive specialized training on how to manage the symptoms of advanced heart disease and keep our patients comfortable—wherever they receive care. With Agrace, patients who have heart disease can continue treatments that control their symptoms and improve their quality of life. The Advanced Cardiac Care Program’s care guide can help prevent the repeat hospital and emergency room visits that are a huge source of stress for patients and families.

The program is led by Karen Nissen-Boryczka, RN, BSN, MSHCE, Agrace’s cardiac nurse specialist. She works with Agrace’s hospice and supportive care clinicians and its community care partners to support patients who have complex cardiac care needs and need specialized care to manage their symptoms and meet their end-of-life goals. Before joining Agrace, she was a heart transplant coordinator at UW Health, Madison, where she managed complex care for post-heart- transplant patients. She has also been a nurse clinician with UW Health Cardiothoracic Surgery and Transplant and UW Health Trauma Life Support Center. Nissen-Boryczka was named a Top Nurse in 2022 by Madison Magazine.

Read more in the Fall 2022 Agrace newsletter:
Agrace Adds More Science to the Art of Managing Heart Disease Symptoms