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| Get With The Guidelines Silver Performance Achievement Award for Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure |
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Houston Northwest Medical Center
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Houston Northwest Medical Center recently received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Coronary Artery Disease (GWTG–CAD) and Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure (GWTG–HF) Silver Performance Achievement Awards. Get With The Guidelines is a quality improvement initiative that provides hospital staff with tools that follow proven evidence-based guidelines and procedures in caring for heart failure patients to prevent future hospitalizations. The awards recognize Houston Northwest Medical Center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of cardiac care that effectively improves treatment of patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease and heart failure.
Under GWTG–CAD, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation/ weight management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before they are discharged. Hospitals that receive the GWTG-CAD Silver Performance Achievement Award have demonstrated for at least one year that 85 percent of its coronary patients (without contraindications) are discharged following the American Heart Association’s recommended treatment guidelines.
“The American Heart Association applauds Houston Northwest Medical Center for its success in implementing the appropriate evidence-based care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events and deaths in cardiovascular disease patients,” said Gregg C Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. “Houston Northwest Medical Center has achieved a high level of performance in terms of implementing these life-prolonging treatments.”
According to the American Heart Association, about 5.2 million people suffer from heart failure. The GWTG–HF recognition signifies that Houston Northwest Medical Center has reached an aggressive goal of treating heart failure patients with 85% compliance for one year to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines for heart failure patients.
“The full implementation of national heart failure guideline recommended care is a critical step in preventing recurrent hospitalizations and prolonging the lives of heart failure patients,” said Gregg C Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the GWTG Steering Committee and director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. “The goal of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program is to help hospitals like Houston Northwest Medical Center implement appropriate evidence-based care and protocols that will reduce disability and the number of deaths in these patients.”
“Houston Northwest Medical Center is dedicated to making the Ed Roberson Heart Center among the best in the country, and the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the long-term outcomes of our cardiac patients,” said Drew Kahn, FACHE, chief executive officer. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care.”
The American Heart Association’s GWTG program is designed to increase the use of and adherence to the association’s secondary prevention guidelines for coronary artery disease. Developed to assist healthcare professionals follow proven standards and procedures before patients are discharged, GWTG–CAD may help Houston Northwest Medical Center reduce the risk of recurrent heart attacks and death in treated patients. The program, which works by mobilizing teams in acute care hospitals to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines, was developed with support from an unrestricted educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.
The American Heart Association’s GWTG program is being implemented in hospitals around the country.
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