WATCH PROGRAM - WESTCHESTER ADULT TEEN CONGENITAL HEART PROGRAM |
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Michael Gewitz, MD, Chief of Pediatric Cardiology conceived the idea of the WATCH Program, a Hudson Valley based program to treat and monitor young adults and teens, who live with congenital heart disease.
The concept burgeoned, and today, between 150 and 175 patients are actively involved in the WATCH Program — Westchester Adult Teen Congenital Heart Program.
“The idea was prompted by a national trend toward the development of programs specifically designed for teens and young adults, who have grown up with congenital heart problems,” Dr. Gewitz explains. “Personally, I've had alot of patients in this category.” With the youngest participant 17 years of age, and the oldest in her late 30s, the program is unique in addressing the real-life concerns of patients born with heart problems. “Most have ongoing problems and concerns, but some come to our center to clarify a specific diagnosis, and decide about treatment plans,” Dr. Gewitz says, “and some we've seen their whole lives.”
Dr. Gewitz and his colleagues at CWPW, Paul Woolf, MD, who now directs the program, and Markus Erb, MD, have treated the vast majority of WATCH Program participants over the years. More than half have had heart surgery. These patients require ongoing specialized cardiac care; hence the evolution of the WATCH Program.
The program also involves a cadre of closely aligned adult cardiovascular specialists, who gradually assume more and more of the proportion of day-to-day care for the participants, as they move into adulthood.
All of this activity is under the coordination of Somer Delsignore, MSN, CPNP, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at CWPW, with a particular interest in the transition process.
Today in the United States, congenital heart disease, by definition, a condition present at birth, affects more teens and young adults than it does very young children. “Once you have it, you always have it,” Dr. Gewitz explains.
Approximately 35,000 babies are born each year with some form of congenital heart defect, according to the American Heart Association. There are well over a million people alive in the United States, who are adults with congenital heart disease.
CWPW's WATCH Program is one of the few programs in New York state registered with the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Association. In total, the WATCH Program includes five cardiologists, as well as a dedicated nursing staff, and a full time coordinator.
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The WATCH Program goes beyond medical care, to include guidance in life care, which helps participants with issues ranging from employment and insurance, to behavioral matters. Since growing up and living with congenital heart disease often exerts unique burdens on patients, ranging from frequent hospitalizations, to exercise issues, to sensitivity to scarring from surgery, behavioral specialists are also part of the WATCH Program. Support groups are also available for patients and their families.
Dr. Gewitz says the WATCH Program is meeting a real need for teen and adult participants. “We saw patients grow up with special needs, and noticed some were falling through the cracks of the medical system, as they transitioned from pediatric to adult care,” Dr. Gewitz says. The WATCH Program is a safety net of sorts, offering state of the art cardiac care and ancillary services to a unique group of patients.
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Pictured from Left to Right
Markus Erb, MD, Somer Del Signore, M.S.N., C.P.N.P, Michael Gewitz, MD,
Warren Rosenblum, MD, Andrea Cronin, FNP-C & Robert Belkin, MD, FACC. Not Pictured: Paul Woolf, MD |
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