Intervention Group
In collaboration with patients’ physicians, three APNs
implemented an intervention extending from index hospital
admission through 3 months after the index hospital
discharge. The intervention included all of the following
components: (1) a standardized orientation and training
program guided by a multidisciplinary team of heart failure
experts (composed of a geropsychiatric clinical nurse
specialist, pharmacist, nutritionist, social worker, physical
therapist, and board-certified cardiologist specializing in
the treatment of heart failure) to prepare APNs to address
the unique needs of older adults and their caregivers
throughout an acute episode of heart failure; (2) use of
care management strategies foundational to the Quality-
Cost Model of APN Transitional Care,16,17 including
identification of patients’ and caregivers’ goals, individualized
plans of care developed and implemented by APNs in
collaboration with patients’ physicians, educational and
behavioral strategies to address patients’ and caregivers’