- Written By:Alex Colley, Marketing and Business Development Manager
American Heart Association Award recognizes St. Mary’s Medical Center’s commitment to quality heart failure care
St. Mary’s Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring heart failure patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence. The goal is speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
St. Mary’s Medical Center earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their heart failure and overall health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
“St. Mary’s has a long history of high-quality heart care and is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients with heart failure,” said Sarah Gonzalez, Chief Nursing Officer. “This award is a testament to that dedication and our commitment to excellence.”
“We are pleased to recognize St. Mary’s Medical Center for their commitment to heart failure care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
St. Mary’s Medical Center offers state-of-the-art cardiovascular care including interventional services, preventative cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation. It is also a designation Level II STEMI and Level II Chest Pain center.