2018 marks the fifth time that UC Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. West Chester Hospital also received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Bronze Quality Achievement Award.
“We are honored to receive this important award for providing the highest quality of advanced heart failure care,” said Susan Collins, executive administrative director of the UC Heart, Lung, & Vascular Institute, a collaboration between UC Health and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine designed to uncover breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine. “As an academic medical center with the first and most experienced adult heart transplant program in the region, our patients receive unsurpassed care with extraordinary outcomes.”
These awards recognize the hospitals’ commitment to ensuring patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence.
“UC Health West Chester Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for all of our patients. For those with heart failure, we implement the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure initiative,” said Tom Daskalakis, chief administration officer of West Chester Hospital. “The provided tools and resources help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Additionally, UC Medical Center has been recognized on the Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll. Target: Heart Failure is an initiative that provides hospitals with educational tools, prevention programs and treatment guidelines designed to reduce the risk of heart failure patients ending up back in the hospital. Hospitals are required to meet criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination and enhances patient education. The goal is to reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 6.5 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure. Many heart failure patients can lead a full, enjoyable life when their condition is managed with proper medications or devices and with healthy lifestyle changes.