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For the ninth consecutive year, Lehigh Valley Hospital–Schuylkill has received the Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) – Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes LVH–Schuylkill for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation’s secondary prevention guidelines for patients with heart failure.
The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment to ensuring heart failure patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence. The goal is speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions for patients with heart failure.
LVH–Schuylkill earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure 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 also receive education on managing their heart failure and overall health.
“We are very proud of this program and what it means for patients,” says Cathy Sophy, RN, Administrative Director of Quality. “LVH–Schuylkill is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients with heart failure. Implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure program helps us accomplish this goal by tracking and measuring our success in meeting internationally respected guidelines.”
LVH–Schuylkill also received the association’s Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll. Target: Heart Failure is an initiative that provides hospitals with educational tools, prevention programs and treatment guidelines designed to reduce the risk of patients with heart failure being readmitted to the hospital. Hospitals are required to meet criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination, and enhances patient education. The goal is to reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.