Heart Failure Prevention Award Given To Southwest General

MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OH — Southwest General Hospital has been given the Get With the Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Quality Achievement Award. The designation comes for implementing specific improvements outlined by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

“Southwest General is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our heart failure patients and implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure program,” said William A. Young, Jr., president and chief executive officer, Southwest General in a statement. “In return, this helps us to accomplish our goals by tracking and measuring our success in meeting internationally-respected guidelines.”

To receive the award the hospital had to meet specific quality achievement measures for diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients at a set level for a specific stretch of time. The measures used to evaluate the hospital included evaluation of the patient, proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. These would include:

• ACE inhibitors/ARBs
• Beta-blockers
• Diuretics
• Anticoagulants
• Other appropriate therapies

“We are pleased to recognize Southwest General for their commitment to heart failure care,” said Dr. Paul Heidenreich, MS, national chairman, Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and professor of medicine, Stanford University. “Research has shown that there are benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the Get With The Guidelines program. Get With The Guidelines research has demonstrated the impact of lowering 30-day re-admissions and reducing mortality rates.”

Heart failure is a dangerous and prevalent problem in America. More than 5.7 million adults suffer from heart failure each year, according to the American Heart Association. The number of Americans suffering heart failure each year is expected to rise to eight million by 2030. More than 870,000 new heart failure cases are diagnosed each year, and half of those new diagnoses will die within five years. However, 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.

The Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure is an improvement program that helps hospital teams provide up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing hospital re-admissions for heart failure patients.

Photo from Southwest General Hospital