Awards recognize both hospitals’ commitment to quality cardiovascular care.
Paradise Valley Hospital and Alvarado Hospital, Prime Healthcare’s two hospitals in San Diego County, have been recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association with the organization’ Get With The Guidelines® Quality Achievement Awards. Paradise Valley received the Gold Plus Heart Failure Quality Achievement Award and the Gold Plus Stroke award, with added designations of Stroke Honor Roll Elite and Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. Alvarado Hospital is the recipient of the Stroke Gold Plus Award with the Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll designation, and the Silver Plus Heart Failure Quality Achievement Award with the Heart Failure Honor Roll designation.
According to the AHA/ASA, these awards recognize each hospital’s commitment to ensuring patients who have suffered heart failure or stroke receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded on the latest scientific evidence. The goal of these efforts is to speed recovery and reduce hospital re-admissions.
Both hospitals met specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure and stroke patients at a set level for a designated period in order to be recognized with these awards. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients also receive education on managing their cardiovascular issues and overall health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, and other care transition interventions.
“Both Paradise Valley Hospital and Alvarado Hospital are dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients with cardiovascular health issues by implementing the AHA/ASA Get With The Guidelines initiatives on heart failure and stroke,” said Neerav Jadeja, Paradise Valley Hospital CEO. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
Robin Gomez, CEO of Alvarado Hospital, agreed. “You’ll find this ethic of constant improvement and dedication in any Prime Healthcare hospital you may visit,” said Gomez. “This is true at Alvarado Hospital, and it’s obviously true at Paradise Valley.”
Alvarado Hospital received the Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll designation by meeting specific 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. Paradise Valley Hospital’s Target: Honor Roll Stroke Elite designation was due to the hospital’s ability to meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.
Both hospitals were awarded the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll designation by meeting quality measures developed with more than 90 % of compliance for 12 consecutive months for the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score.”
“We are pleased to recognize both Paradise Valley Hospitals and Alvarado Hospital for their commitment to cardiovascular care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “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.”
According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, 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. Stroke is the fifth highest cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.