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Walnut Creek Campus Receives American Heart Association "Get With The Guidelines" Bronze Performance Achievement Award
John Muir Medical Center's Walnut Creek Campus has received the "Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)" Bronze Performance Achievement Award from the American Heart Association for coronary heart disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF).
The award recognizes John Muir Health's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for patients with coronary heart disease and/or heart failure.
To receive the bronze coronary heart disease award, the Walnut Creek Campus demonstrated for at least 90 days that 100 percent of its eligible coronary patients (without contraindications) are discharged following the American Heart Association's recommended treatment guidelines; the American Heart Association requires 85 percent. The American Heart Association's GWTG's CAD program helps hospitals increase the use of and adherence to the association's secondary prevention guidelines for coronary artery disease. Developed to assist healthcare professionals follow proven standards and procedures before patients are discharged, GWTG CAD can help John Muir Health reduce the risk of recurrent heart attacks and death in treated patients.
The recognition also signifies that John Muir's Walnut Creek Campus has reached an aggressive goal of treating heart failure patients for at least 90 days with 100 percent compliance to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology; the guidelines require 85 percent compliance. According to GWTG's Heart Failure treatment guidelines, heart failure patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, diuretics, and anticoagulants in the hospital. They also receive alcohol/drug use counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before being discharged.
"The American Heart Association applauds John Muir Medical Center's Walnut Creek Campus for its success in implementing the appropriate evidence-based care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events, disability and death in cardiovascular and heart failure patients," says Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. "John Muir Medical Center - Walnut Creek Campus has achieved a high level of performance in terms of implementing these life-prolonging treatments," he adds.
"John Muir Health is dedicated to making our hospitals among the best in the country by providing leading-edge care in a compassionate environment," says Jane Willemsen, President and CAO for John Muir Medical Center's Walnut Creek Campus. "The American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the long-term outcomes of our cardiac patients and prolonging the lives of those in heart failure. We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in these areas."
Statistics: According to the American Heart Association, approximately 565,000 people suffer a new heart attack and 300,000 experience a recurrent heart attack each year. Statistics also show that within one year of a heart attack, 18 percent of men and 23 percent of women will die. Within five years after an attack, about 33 percent of men and 43 percent of women will die. Additionally, five million Americans are living with heart failure; 550,000 new cases are diagnosed each year.
(Posted November 20, 2007)