WEST READING, PA — Tower Health announced that Phoenixville Hospital, Pottstown Hospital, and Reading Hospital have received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll quality achievement award for their commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home.
“The health of the individuals in our community is the top priority for the team members at Tower Health,” said P. Sue Perrotty, Tower Health president and CEO. “Awards and recognitions such as these demonstrate our continuous efforts to share best practices across our hospitals and ensure we are adhering to the latest treatment guidelines. Each day we are grateful our patients have chosen us for their care and we hope to get them home to their friends and family as soon as possible.”
Recently the hospitals implemented a risk stratification tool in each Emergency Department (ED). This is a clinical decision support tool to identify patients who need to be admitted for additional care and treatment and those who are eligible for discharge from the ED. This important tool helps to identify those at higher risk for mortality or possible future readmissions.
About 6 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure (HF), a number that is expected to increase to more than 8 million by 2030. Despite the name, heart failure doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working – it means the heart is having a hard time pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there’s no cure for heart failure, patients can live a quality life by working with their health care team to create and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring, and lifestyle changes.
The Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping to ensure that patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. The program aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
Each year, program participants qualify for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for Heart Failure patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their Heart Failure at home.
“We are pleased to recognize the leaders and teams at Phoenixville Hospital, Pottstown Hospital, and Reading Hospital for a strong commitment to caring for people with Heart Failure,” said Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., MSc, MACC, FAHA, MACP, FHFSA, national chairperson of the American Heart Association Heart Failure systems of care advisory group and chief, division of cardiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. According to Mr. Yancy, hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines quality improvement programs often see better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions, and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.
Click here to download the Get With the Guidelines Heart Failure Gold Award.
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