CHIARA BARKLEY
Bolingbrook,IL
Summary
Heart Failure Nurse Navigator / Heart Failure Coach and cardiac progressive care nurse with 10+ years of experience at Edward Hospital, specializing in heart failure, advanced cardiac care, and complex transitions of care. Selected to help launch and lead the Heart Failure Coach program across Edward and Elmhurst Hospitals, serving as a system resource, educator, and liaison between inpatient teams, cardiology groups, and outpatient services. Proven track record in reducing readmissions, optimizing GDMT, improving documentation and metrics, and driving multidisciplinary initiatives that align with organizational quality and safety goals. Recognized for clinical excellence, program development, and collaborative leadership.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Heart Failure Nurse Navigator / Heart Failure Coach
Edward & Elmhurst Hospitals – Edward-Elmhurst Health / Endeavor Health
05.2024 - Current
- Selected to help launch and lead the newly developed Heart Failure Coach program across Edward and Elmhurst, serving as a system wide resource for HF care, transitions, and education.
- Provide bedside and telephonic HF coaching, with emphasis on symptom recognition, medication adherence, low-sodium diet, daily weights, and escalation pathways to reduce 30-day readmissions.
- Assumed and enhanced the HF callback process to deliver proactive post-discharge outreach, identify early decompensation, and coordinate timely follow-up with cardiology and primary care.
- Co-Chair, Heart Failure Center of Excellence (HF COE), partnering with cardiology, leadership, and multidisciplinary teams to standardize HF care, align with guidelines, and support strategic HF initiatives.
- Serve as a liaison for cardiology groups (Midwest Cardiovascular Institute [MCI] and Duly cardiology), facilitating 7-day HF follow-up appointments, ED diversion pathways, and clinic-based management as alternatives to readmission.
- Help coordinate and support the CardioMEMS program at Edward and Elmhurst, including patient identification, education, adherence troubleshooting, and collaboration with remote monitoring teams and structural heart.
- Co-created and implemented ED-based HF and AFib workflows with MCI and ED partners to divert appropriate low- to intermediate-risk patients from inpatient admission to clinic-based evaluation and management.
- Collaborate with Finance to maintain and interpret quarterly HF metrics (readmissions, LOS, penalties) using Vizient and Strata, helping identify trends and opportunities to reduce readmission penalties and improve performance.
- Partner with the Epic and clinical informatics teams to design and implement a Heart Failure Coach documentation flowsheet and to enhance the Heart Failure Dashboard (BDI), improving visibility of HF metrics, GDMT use, and quality reporting.
- Lead and participate in HF quality initiatives including medication discrepancy identification, accurate HF diagnosis coding, and alignment with Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure standards.
- Provide CE-credentialed HF education to nursing staff at Edward and Elmhurst, and deliver targeted sessions for social work, ED teams, and other disciplines to improve HF knowledge, GDMT adoption, and transitions of care.
- Collaborate with Cardiac Rehab, Residential Home Health, extended care facilities, and outpatient programs (including Cardio@Home RPM and Edward Fitness Center medical fitness program) to support holistic, longitudinal HF management.
- Engage pharmacy and industry partners (including SGLT2i initiatives and Furoscix pathways) to expand access to evidence-based therapies, streamline pre-authorization processes, and educate staff on new HF medications and technologies.
- Collaborate with the wound care navigator and hyperbaric safety officer on program promotion and development, recognizing the overlap between HF and wound care needs in complex patients.
- Present program outcomes and quality initiatives to system-level committees, including the Quality and Patient Safety Oversight Committee (QPSOC) and Edward Quality Council, highlighting the HF Coach program’s impact on readmissions, care transitions, and patient experience.
- HFCOACH_Accomplishments092025
Registered Nurse – Cardiac Progressive Care / Charge Nurse
Edward Hospital, Edward-Elmhurst Health
08.2014 - Current
- -Provide comprehensive care to high-acuity cardiac progressive care patients, including post–open heart surgery, VAD, advanced HF, arrhythmia, post-PCI, and complex medical-cardiac patients.
- Serve as Charge Nurse, coordinating patient assignments, supporting clinical decision-making, mentoring staff, and facilitating interdisciplinary communication during high-volume and high-acuity shifts.
- Recognized resource for complex HF patients and frequently consulted regarding symptom management, medication optimization, and discharge readiness.
- Develop and deliver cardiology content for new graduate nurse residency classes, focusing on core cardiac concepts, HF management, rhythm basics, and safe progression of care for step-down-level patients.
- Precept new nurses and students, fostering clinical competence, critical thinking, and confidence in managing cardiac patients.
- Identify and escalate medication discrepancies, documentation concerns, and quality/safety issues, contributing to improved transitions of care and patient outcomes.
- Collaborate with cardiology, CT surgery, case management, rehab, and ancillary departments to support safe discharges, follow-up planning, and patient/family education.
Education
Bachelor of Science in Nursing -
Chamberlain College of Nursing
Skills
- Heart Failure Navigation & Coaching
- Advanced Cardiac Nursing (VAD, post–open heart)
- GDMT Optimization
- Readmission Reduction & Care Transitions
- CardioMEMS Coordination
- AFib & HF Workflows
- Interdisciplinary Collaboration (MCI, Duly, ED, Pharmacy, Rehab)
- Clinical Education & CE Programming
- Epic Workflow & Dashboard Development
- Quality, Safety & Metrics (Vizient, Strata)
- Patient & Family Education
- New Grad Residency Teaching
- Program Development & Expansion
- Electronic Health Record: Epic (documentation, flowsheets, dashboards, callback tools)
- Data & Reporting: comfortable with HF metrics, dashboards, and performance reporting (Vizient, Strata)
- Strong written and verbal communication; experienced presenter to frontline staff, leadership, and system committees
- Collaborative, patient-centered approach with focus on safety, quality, and sustainable workflows
Certification
- Registered Nurse (RN) – State of Illinois
- Progressive Care Certified Nurse (PCCN)
- Certified Heart Failure Nurse (CHFN) – In progress
Timeline
Heart Failure Nurse Navigator / Heart Failure Coach
Edward & Elmhurst Hospitals – Edward-Elmhurst Health / Endeavor Health
05.2024 - Current
Registered Nurse – Cardiac Progressive Care / Charge Nurse
Edward Hospital, Edward-Elmhurst Health
08.2014 - Current
Bachelor of Science in Nursing -
Chamberlain College of Nursing
PRESENTATIONS, EDUCATION & SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY
- Nursing Research Symposium – Accepted abstract and scheduled 15-minute podium presentation on the Heart Failure Coach program and its impact on quality and outcomes.
- Quality and Patient Safety Oversight Committee (QPSOC) – Presenter on HF Coach program outcomes, safety, and readmission reduction strategies.
- Edward Quality Council – HF Coach program presentations on evolving role, metrics, and system value.
- CE-credentialed HF education for nursing staff at Edward and Elmhurst, including unit-based in-services, lunch-and-learn sessions, and interdisciplinary education.
- Educational sessions for Social Work, ED teams, Case Management, and Rehab on HF pathways, ED diversion, symptom monitoring, and transitions of care.
- Creator and instructor for new graduate cardiology nursing classes, focusing on HF pathophysiology, telemetry, and post-surgical cardiac care.
LEADERSHIP, COMMITTEES & PROGRAM INVOLVEMENT
- Co-Chair, Heart Failure Center of Excellence (HF COE) – Edward-Elmhurst / Endeavor Health
- Heart Failure Coach Program – Foundational leader in implementation and ongoing evolution across Edward and Elmhurst Hospitals
- CardioMEMS Program Coordination – Edward & Elmhurst Hospitals
- Liaison to Midwest Cardiovascular Institute (MCI) and Duly cardiology for HF care pathways, 7-day follow-ups, and ED diversion workflows
- Partner with Finance on HF readmission and LOS metrics via Vizient and Strata
- Collaborate with Epic / Informatics on HF flowsheet and HF dashboard (BDI)
- Work with wound care navigator and hyperbaric safety officer on program promotion and integration
- Regular collaboration with MCI, Glenbrook leadership, and other sites to expand the HF Coach/Navigator model and standardize processes across regions
- Emerging Leaders Program – Selected participant, reflecting commitment to leadership development and system engagement
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
DAISY Award Nomination – Nominated by a family under Structural Heart care for exceptional compassion, communication, and impact on their experience., Selected for the health system’s Emerging Leaders Program.