Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab

Cardiac rehab focuses on personalized and individualized treatment plans in conjunction with exercise, education, nutrition, and stress management. We believe in participants taking an active role in their recovery, while working closely with the rehab team, consisting of registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and exercise physiologists certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).

Exercise is tailored to the participant’s specific physical abilities and needs. Throughout each session, blood pressure, heart rate and rhythm, as well as oxygen levels and blood sugars are carefully monitored utilizing computerized technology. If any concerns arise during treatment, our team coordinates with your physician to ensure effective communication and quality of care

Weekly educational sessions help participants learn more about heart and vascular diseases, risk factor modification, stress management, diet and nutrition, and many other topics designed to help patients successfully improve and manage their health.

Patients receive an hour-long exercise sessions two to three times each week. Cardiac Rehab is a prescription program usually lasting for 36 sessions or about 3 months. A formal doctor’s referral is required for participation and Medicare and most other insurance plans cover the program for those who meet the criteria.

Qualifying criteria:

• Coronary bypass surgery
• Valve replacement or repair
• Heart attack
• Heart stents
• Heart failure that meets certain criteria
• Heart transplant
• You can check with your insurance plan to determine copays or other requirements

Benefits of attending the program:

• Live longer and lessen your chances for another heart attack
• Control heart disease symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath
• Stop or reverse damage to blood vessels in your heart
• Lessen the physical and emotional effects of heart disease
• Improve your stamina and strength, getting you back to your usual activities
• Improve your confidence and well-being

The Pulmonary Rehab program offers exercise training and education several times a week for patients with chronic lung disease. We strive to boost your quality of life and healthy behaviors all tailored to your individual needs.

Our medically supervised Cardiac Rehab program offers a supervised walking program developed for people with peripheral artery disease (PAD) who have been diagnosed with intermittent claudication (leg muscle pain that occurs while walking). A supervised walking program is highly recommended by the American Heart Association (AHA) for patients diagnosed with claudication.

The program is guided by registered nurses, respiratory therapists and exercise physiologists with the overall goal of improving the patient’s functional walking abilities, decreasing discomfort and promoting and developing an individualized regular walking routine.

Benefits of Regular Exercise:

• Live longer and lessen the physical and emotional effects of heart disease
• Improve blood circulation
• Reduce stress and enhance optimism and psychological well-being
• Improve physical function
• Weight loss and improvements in cholesterol levels
• Improve stamina and strength, getting you back to your usual activities
• Improve blood pressure and blood sugar readings if you are diabetic

Mary Mollenkopf, Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Mary has been a part of GRMC’s Cardiac Rehab department for more than 10 years and has been the director for 5 years. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of the Incarnate Word as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Mary attained considerable knowledge working in different clinical settings throughout her career, including telemetry units, ICU’s, and ER’s. She finds her role most inspiring when seeing patients take charge of their health and healing, and how they learn to enjoy movement and a healthier lifestyle. She has been a part of the GRMC family for more than 30 years and credits that to a workplace culture of compassion and friendliness paired with providing advanced, evidence-based healthcare.

Laurie McWhorter, Assistant Director of Cardiac Rehabilitation
Laurie is the Assistant Director of GRMC’s Cardiac Rehab department and a registered Respiratory Therapist. With more than 20 years of cardiac rehab experience, Laurie brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and finds joy in watching patients complete the cardiac rehab program, thus being able to resume their regular activities. Throughout the day, you will find Laurie monitoring, assessing, and assisting patients in their exercise, as well as furthering education for the cardiac rehab team to ensure patients are receiving the highest level of care.

Melinda Benbrook, Registered Respiratory Therapist
Melinda is a Texas State graduate with a degree in Respiratory Therapy. Her goal is to provide excellent care in GRMC’s Cardiac Rehab department by monitoring, assessing, and evaluating each patient and ensuring a safe and friendly environment. Melinda is most inspired by witnessing patients improve both physically and mentally through the cardiac rehab program. In her spare time, she enjoys walking her dogs, traveling, and listening to live music.

Bethany Estrada, Registered Respiratory Therapist
With over 10 years of respiratory therapy experience, Bethany finds satisfaction in collaborating with her cardiac rehab team on personalized treatment plans and creating relationships with her patients. She enjoys getting to know her patients and communicating to them about overall health, nutrition, and physical activity. Bethany knows the importance of ensuring each patients receives the highest quality of treatment and is proud to be an active role in their recovery.