Lankenau Hospital has a new initiative to help patients waiting for heart surgery who lack access to transportation and healthy foods, writes Aubrey Whelan for The Philadelphia Inquirer via MSN.

Many Lankenau patients who are heart surgery candidates need to get healthier before they can successfully undergo the surgery.

Often times though they face obstacles like not having access to regular transportation for doctor’s appointments or to healthy foods.

Some patients might also have difficulty getting off from work to make their appointments or lack a strong emotional support network to lean on.

“A lot of times we see that a patient has been in with a heart attack, and they did not follow up. Sometimes they come back after having another heart attack,” Mara Caroline, a Lankenau interventional cardiologist, said.

In all of these cases, the Lankenau Initiative to Improve Cardiovascular Access, which is headed by Caroline, can help.

The initiative is funded through charitable donations and has served 45 patients since 2023.

Patients in the program receive transportation to the hospital, deliveries of fresh fruits and vegetables from the hospital’s on-site farm, and regular check-in calls from program staff.

The staff can also help with any questions about health insurance and pharmaceutical coverage.

Read more about the Lankenau Initiative to Improve Cardiovascular Access and which patients are eligible for help at MSN.

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