Baptist Health La Grange opens new Heart Failure Clinic
(LA GRANGE, Ky.) APRIL 17, 2025 — Baptist Health is expanding access to specialized care that helps patients in heart failure live longer, stay out of the hospital and have a better quality of life.
Baptist Health La Grange’s new Heart Failure Clinic begins seeing patients this month. The clinic offers comprehensive care — including a dedicated, in-office pharmacist — to help patients understand and manage the difficult disease.
Heart failure means the heart isn’t able to pump enough blood to meet the needs of the body. Heart disease, including heart failure, is a significant health concern in Kentucky. Heart disease is the state’s leading cause of death, contributing to a high cardiovascular mortality rate compared to the national average.
Nathan Mittlesteadt, PA-C works with patients at the new Baptist Health La Grange clinic. Mittlesteadt explained that care typically begins with an in-depth appointment to assess their needs, including a review of medications and screening for other issues that may need management coordinated with another specialist, such as diabetes or sleep apnea.
“We offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ to manage the many complications of heart failure,” said Mittlesteadt. “Each patient has unique needs, and our clinic provides extra resources to address those needs.”
Located in Baptist Health La Grange’s Ambulatory Care Center (ACC), patients are referred into the program by any healthcare provider, including primary care providers, cardiologists, or after a patient has been admitted to the hospital. The clinic is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The Heart Failure Clinic at Baptist Health La Grange brings high-quality care close to home for patients in Oldham County and the surrounding area. Access to the specialized services on site in La Grange helps keep patients from hospital stays by guiding them toward management of heart failure rather than repeated readmission due to its effects.
Medication plays a key role in the treatment of the disease and a dedicated pharmacist in the clinic counsels patients to ensure they are getting the most out of their medications with the correct dosage and ensures they are avoiding potentially harmful interactions with other drugs.
“Patients enrolled in heart failure clinics live longer than patients not involved in these programs. The medications are more in tune to the patients’ needs so they can do more. They stay out of the hospital more frequently and have fewer ER visits, making it more cost effective,” Mittlesteadt said. “Ultimately, these clinics are successful because they empower the patient to actively participate in improving their heart health.”
In addition to the Heart Failure Clinic, Baptist Health La Grange offers convenient access to on-site cardiologists who treat and manage heart disease, diagnostic testing such as cardiac stress testing, echocardiography and cardiac CT, along with a cardiac rehab program certified by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR).