{"id":7711,"date":"2025-12-16T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7711"},"modified":"2025-12-16T19:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:30:00","slug":"home-based-heart-care-helps-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7711","title":{"rendered":"Home-based heart care helps Veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2025-12-16T19:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

Find a new lease on life<\/h2>\n

For Army Veteran George Dale, recovery has been a long flight, but today it\u2019s his heart\u2014not his aircraft\u2014he\u2019s steering back on course.<\/p>\n

Dale, who served 11 years as a pilot and air traffic controller during the Vietnam era, has weathered more than his share of battles since leaving the service. After being diagnosed with coronary artery disease linked to Agent Orange exposure, his journey has included a four-way bypass, 19 stents, a pacemaker and an ablation.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been receiving care at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center<\/a> (MRVAMC) since 1996, when a nurse practitioner first noticed signs of heart trouble and, as Dale put it, \u201csaved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a journey,\u201d Dale shared. \u201cBut nurse Kim, she cares about her people. Every Wednesday, we have a standing appointment. I go through my 20 questions, give her my blood pressure readings and a weekly synopsis. It\u2019s cool, because she cares.\u201d<\/p>\n

That care comes through the Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation program at the \u00a0MRVAMC, one of the most effective, yet quietly powerful tools VA offers to help Veterans recover from heart issues.<\/p>\n

The program allows Veterans to complete cardiac rehab from home while maintaining close contact with nurses through weekly phone calls and ongoing education about physical activity, tobacco cessation and nutrition. The model has grown rapidly from a few hundred participants in its first year to nearly 700 Veterans this past year, with more than 1,200 Veterans that have completed the program in total.<\/p>\n

Dale is just one of those success stories. \u201cWhen I started this, I was 274 pounds and pre-diabetic,\u201d he said. \u201cNow I take no medicine, no insulin. Today I weighed in at 239. I lost that much weight being in this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

His nurse in the program, Kim Phillips, credits his progress to his dedication and his openness to change. But Dale insists the transformation wouldn\u2019t have happened without her. \u201cSpecial thanks to my nurse Kim,\u201d he said. \u201cHer dedication, care, passion and professional knowledge have totally changed my life. It\u2019s kept me alive, period, and I thank her for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Constantly innovating<\/h2>\n

VA\u2019s home-based cardiac rehab has expanded beyond traditional heart conditions to support even more Veterans with issues like peripheral artery disease, offering comprehensive care that reduces hospitalizations and improves long-term survival. Behind the numbers are nurses like Kim Phillips and Carol Williams, professionals who provide compassionate, consistent care and become trusted partners in each Veteran\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n

For Dale, that partnership has restored more than just his physical health. \u201cA lot of Veterans lost their lives in Vietnam,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot came home but didn\u2019t realize a part of them died there too.\u00a0VA helped me find help, and other Veterans who understood.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, he pays that forward. When fellow Veterans question VA, Dale doesn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cI\u2019d drive them there myself,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have this privilege. Go across the street to any other hospital and you\u2019re going to wait. Here, they care, and it shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Veterans interested in participating in the Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program can speak with their primary care provider to determine eligibility and request a consult for enrollment in the program.<\/p>\n

\n

This article was originally published on the VA North Florida\/South Georgia Health care System site <\/a>\u00a0and has been edited for style and clarity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Army Veteran George Dale credits VA\u2019s home-based heart care for changing the course of his life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nHome-based heart care helps Veteran - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Army Veteran George Dale credits VA\u2019s home-based heart care for changing the course of his life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7711\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home-based heart care helps Veteran - 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