Special box, app designed by doctor at Our Lady of the Lake helps heart failure patients live their best lives

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Thinking outside the box comes naturally to Dr. Kenny Civello. But, it’s what he’s putting in some boxes that helps patients diagnosed with heart failure.

“When you come in the hospital, you’re sick, it’s a diagnosis for you, it’s very overwhelming for you to take in new information,” said Civello.

So he put all that information in a free toolbox that goes home with heart failure patients. It’s everything they need to manage their disease the best way possible.

“They tend to be a little anxious, and when we walk in and we have this stuff available for them, it really helps them. It eases their mind,” said Kadie Johnson. Jonson is among nurses that agree that the boxes are a blessing, taking out all the guesswork for patients and caregivers.

“It comes with this cup that basically says you should drink no more than four mugs of this cup in a given day,” said Civello.

“The patients love the seasoning, they don’t have to go buy a bunch of different salt-free seasoning. The can try them here,” said Johnson.

The boxes also come with charts to track progress. instructions on what to eat, and answers to common questions. The goal is to teach patients how to live their best lives at home.

There’s an app version of the health box too. The entire concept has already helped reduce the number of patients who end up back in the hospital.

The Innovation Institute is responsible for bringing Dr. Civell’s idea to life. Our Lady of the Lake partners with the company to encourage staff to get creative.

“It allows doctors, nurses, anyone working at a hospital to submit ideas that they have,” said Civello.

Not every idea makes it, but the ones that do can have a huge impact.

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