FOND DU LAC - SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital has received the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Plus quality achievement award for the seventh consecutive year.
The award recognizes the hospital's commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, according to a news release.
About 6.7 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure, a number expected to increase to more than 8 million by 2030. Heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped working, but rather that it is having difficulty pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there is no cure, 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. The program aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
This honor reflects the strong commitment from SSM St. Agnes Hospital professionals to continue to improve cardiovascular outcomes for their patients, according to Tadeo Diaz Balderrama, SSM Health Fond du Lac Regional Clinic Cardiovascular Services chief.
"St. Agnes Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and delivering the latest evidence based medical care," Diaz Balderrama said. "Get With The Guidelines helps identify centers that deliver care according to the most recent guidelines to help improve patient outcomes. The end goal is to ensure that more people in the Fond du Lac area can experience longer, healthier lives."
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 St. Agnes Hospital for a strong commitment to caring for people with heart failure," Sabra Lewsey, volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Heart Failure System of Care Advisory Group, said in the release. "Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure often see better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates -- a win for families, communities, and health care systems."
Additionally, St. Agnes Hospital received the American Heart Association's Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to heart disease or stroke.
This story was created by reporter Nida Tazeen, [email protected], with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.