Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite and the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. These awards recognize the hospital’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients and heart failure patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.
“Stroke and heart failure affect millions of Americans each year. At Our Lady of the Lake we have the tools and resources necessary to provide better outcomes and help these individuals live fuller lives.,” said Dr. Andrew Rees, chief of cardiology at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. “If you or someone you know is experiencing a stroke or untreated heart failure, seek treatment immediately. Do not delay based on fear or hopes that it will get better because time is especially important in these conditions.”
More than 6.5 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure and 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. According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.
AHA’s quality measures are designed to help hospital teams follow the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients and, for heart failure patients, the evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.
“We are pleased to recognize Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center for their commitment to stroke and heart failure care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and executive vice chair of neurology, director of acute stroke services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
Our Lady of the Lake also received the Association’s Target: Diabetes Type 2 Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed with more than 90 percent of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center is also recognized as a HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) making it only one of 23 designated facilities in the country. This designation is the highest recognition given by the ACC to hospitals and health systems that meet criteria demonstrating a commitment to providing exceptional cardiovascular care. Our Lady of the Lake is Joint Commission-accredited as a Certified Primary Stroke Center of Excellence for its comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients.