THE REASON BEHIND THE JENNIFER ANN HARTUNG MEMORIAL CF PULMONARY REHAB CENTER

 

Jennifer Ann Hartung was born on October 29, 1974 with Cystic Fibrosis to parents, Ed and Charlotte Hartung. Together, they valiantly fought this life-threatening and debilitating disease for twenty-four years until it ultimately took her life on August 19, 1999.

CF seemed to challenge the Hartung family daily. Like so many wonderful people who struggle with Cystic Fibrosis, Jennifer's typical day involved countless aerosolized medications, mountains of pills and exhaustive airway clearance therapy. Sadly, Ed and Char realized that in spite of all of their valiant efforts, there were no guarantees that Jennifer would ever reach adulthood. Defiantly, this family sought out every avenue of care that may provide a better quality of life and outcome. Eventually, the Hartung team's vigilant pursuit of optimal care ultimately led them to consider pulmonary rehabilitation.

 

Most pulmonary rehab centers design their program to address COPD and consequently their approach to education and physical therapy of the pulmonary patient are more broad-spectrum. Demographically speaking, the patient populace for this group of patients are typically older (40's and above) and are challenged by restrictive and/or obstructive pulmonary disease. I commend these centers for doing a marvelous job of addressing these patient challenges and for their continued commitment to the pursuit of excellence.

 

A DECISION THAT WOULD AFFECT MANY

Jennifer began attending a pulmonary rehab program in the Tulsa area and the progress she made while there, was amazing. Jen's hard work and determination started to pay rich dividends and she soon began experiencing an overall improvement in quality of life. Regrettably, in spite of all her accomplishments and the dynamic job of the pulmonary rehab staff, this program was not designed or equipped for the unique needs of CF patients.

 

Unfortunately, there were times Jennifer felt very out of place with the older patients in her program. Most of the patients were significantly older and were unfamiliar with some of the unique challenges CF patients present. For example, during strenuous exercise Jen would often find herself struggling to catch her breath, especially when accompanied by an uncontrollable coughing episode. Jennifer realized the importance of clearing her airways, yet many times chose to suppress the cough until after completing her session. This approach served to avoid the panic and extra attention that inevitably ensued. Regrettably, this made taking care of her lungs even more difficult. Additionally, many of the educational topics fell short when it came to learning more about her specific disease. Together these things made achieving optimal results an even greater challenge.

 

THE PASSING OF A HERO...A LEGACY TO ALL

The progress Jennifer made while attending rehab is undeniable, however, it left our team asking the question, "What level of success could our patients attain if a program was tailored to the exclusive needs only CF patients encounter?" This line of thinking inspired us to design such a program. 

 

On August 19, 1999, Jennifer Ann Hartung fought her great fight, finished her race and made heaven her home. Although no longer among us, this champion's decision to fight CF to the end, inspired more than she or her family ever realized. Her simple decision to begin a pulmonary rehab program became the catalyst for one of the most incredible CF programs in the country.

 

The year following Jennifer's passing was marked by countless hours of preparation, research, and a personal visit to one of the most successful pulmonary rehab centers in the United States. Our goal was to take as much time as necessary in order to design the very best center in the nation with a program tailored exclusively for the patient challenged by Cystic Fibrosis. We strongly believe we have achieved this.

 

On Sunday October 29, 2000, our company officially launched the Jennifer Ann Hartung Memorial CF Pulmonary Rehab Center. The program was named in her honor and operates in the same manner as CF Solutions, "…to provide our Oklahoma CF patients with the best possible and most efficient care…regardless of their ability to pay."

 

At our center, the pulmonary rehab program addresses the specific needs/challenges CF patients face because of their specific disease process. One-on-one individualized therapy and education is provided and tailored to fit those specific needs, learning styles, physical capabilities, and pace each individual presents. The program is comprised of thirty-six total training sessions. Patients are required to attend three hours a day (one hour of classroom training coupled with two hours of intense cardiovascular, inspiratory, and strength-training exercises), three days a week until all thirty-six sessions are completed.

 

The well-documented, demonstrated outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation include:

• Improved quality of life
• Improved quality of sleep
• Reduced respiratory symptoms (i.e. shortness of breath)
• Improved psychosocial symptoms (reduction of anxiety, depression, and improved self-efficacy
• Increased knowledge of pulmonary disease and its management
• Increased exercise tolerance and performance
• Enhanced ability to perform activities of daily living
• Increased survival in some patients (i.e. transplant candidates)
• Return to work for some patients

To our knowledge, there remains no CF pulmonary rehab program available like it in the country.