Milton Hight said he often walks between 4 and 6 miles a day
ROME, Ga., April 5, 2024 – Milton Hight feared his walking days were over. He was tired all the time and out of breath. That's when he turned to the Heart Failure Clinic at Atrium Health Floyd for care. The experts there were able to help him continue doing what he loves.
Now, at the age of 66, he is walking anywhere from four miles to six miles a day.
The Cartersville resident had double bypass surgery in 2005. Despite that, he said he was feeling well, until about a year and half ago when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.
Since then, Hight said, he visits the clinic anywhere from once a week to once every three weeks, depending on how he's feeling.
Heart failure means that the heart cannot pump blood well enough to meet the body's needs. The goal of the Heart Failure Clinic is to help people learn to take better care of themselves and manage their chronic disease. The clinic provides educational resources, lab work and medication administration.
Patients learn about:
- Types of heart failure, including congestive heart failure
- Healthier eating
- Medication side effects
- Ways to increase activity
- How to monitor what they eat and drink
- Tracking how much they weigh
Hight said he weighs about 266 pounds, down 50 pounds from 316 pounds. He speaks fondly of the teammates at the clinic, who have helped him keep walking. He can often be seen getting his exercise at Hamilton Crossing Park in Bartow County when the weather is good.
His wife, Robin, to whom he was married 42 years, passed away two years ago. He said the kindness of caregivers at the clinic helped sustain him through a tough time.
“When I went in there, I was struggling with my emotions. Julie (Julie Stancil, clinical manager) made me feel so comfortable. And then all I could think of was, well, if I die, when am I going to fall over? She made me feel relaxed.
“They are all very professional and caring, and I really feel like they are sincerely concerned about my health," he added.
The clinic, which opened in 2018, is in Suite 103 on the first floor of the 330 Physicians Center, 330 Turner McCall Blvd., next to Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Referrals from a physician are required.
For more information, call 706-509-5645.
Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center, which is about 30 miles south of Rome off U.S. 27, also has a heart failure clinic that opened in 2023.
That clinic is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 770-749-4157.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,500 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 155,000 team members across 68 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $6 billion in annual community benefits.