Franciscan Health Indianapolis has received the American Heart Association’s “Get With The Guidelines” -Heart Failure GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll Quality Achievement Award.
The AHA designation recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring heart failure patients receive evidenced-based medicine and therapies within the heart failure guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence and research. The goal is to place patients on guideline-directed medical therapies to help improve their quality of life and reduce heart failure readmissions.
Franciscan Health Indianapolis earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients should receive education on managing their heart failure and overall health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions. The goal is to reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.
“This award attests to the dedication and hard work of our doctors, nurses, cardiac nurse navigators and quality department staff at Franciscan Health Heart Center,” said Terri Ruff, chief operating officer for Franciscan Health Central Indiana in a press release. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success to improve patient outcomes.”
“We are pleased to recognize Franciscan Health for their commitment to heart failure care,” said Clyde Yancy, MD, national chairperson of the AHA Heart Failure in a press release. “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.”
More than 6.5 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure. 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.
