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Medical center recognized for stroke and heart failure patient care
Published: Thursday, July 1, 2010
The American Heart Association recently recognized The University of Tennessee Medical Center with the Get With The GuidelinesSM– Stroke Gold and Heart Failure Silver Performance Achievement Awards. Participating hospitals in the Get With the Guidelines program of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association must meet the guidelines by promoting the latest evidence-based treatment for patients with coronary artery disease, heart disease and stroke in an effort to improve health and save lives. The University of Tennessee Medical Center became the region’s first Certified Primary Stroke Center in 2006 and earned Certified Primary Stroke Center recertification in 2008. Primary Stroke Center certification is awarded by The Joint Commission, which is recognized as the nation’s predominant standards-setting and accrediting body for healthcare organizations.
Stroke Gold Award
For the third consecutive year, The University of Tennessee Medical Center’s Stroke Center will receive national attention for earning a prestigious award through the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Representatives with the medical center recently learned that UT Medical Center’s Stroke Center is the only certified primary stroke center in the Knoxville region to earn the 2010 Get With the Guidelines Gold Award.
“The gold award is a reflection on the dedication and commitment of each member of the UT Medical Center Stroke Center team for the delivery of outstanding care and positive outcomes for our patients,” said Dr. John Beuerlein, medical director of UT Medical Center’s Stroke Center. “As stroke is the leading cause of disability and third leading cause of death in our country, our multidisciplinary Stroke Center team focuses on top-notch care for our patients as well as providing stroke education, outreach and prevention measures to our entire community.”
Stroke care facilities receive this recognition through adherence to the stringent parameters of the Get With the Guidelines program regarding quality and performance improvement measures for the care of stroke. All stroke quality indicators must be met for 24 consecutive months to earn the gold award.
UT Medical Center’s community outreach and patient and public education throughout the region aids in stroke prevention measures. The medical center, the region’s only academic medical center, offers a variety of educational opportunities to the public about the dangers and risks of stroke and how recognizing stroke warning signs can save a life. 
Heart Failure Silver Award
This recognition signifies that UT Medical Center reached an aggressive goal of treating heart failure patients with 85% compliance for one year to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines for heart failure patients.
Get With The Guidelines is a quality improvement initiative that provides hospital staff with tools that follow proven evidence-based guidelines and procedures in caring for heart failure patients. According to Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure treatment guidelines, heart failure patients are treated with aggressive risk-reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, diuretics and anticoagulants in the hospital. Patients also receive counseling on the correct diet, smoking cessation, alcohol/drug use, thyroid management and medication compliance as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before being discharged.
“The full implementation of national heart failure guideline recommended care is a critical step in preventing recurrent hospitalizations and prolonging the lives of heart failure patients,” said Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. “The goal of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program is to help hospitals such as The University of Tennessee Medical Center implement appropriate evidence-based care and protocols that will reduce disability and the number of deaths in these patients.”
According to the American Heart Association, about 5.7 million people suffer from heart failure. Statistics also show that each year more than 292,200 people will die of heart failure.
Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure helps UT Medical Center’s staff develop and implement acute and secondary prevention guideline processes. The program includes quality-improvement measures such as care maps, discharge protocols, standing orders and measurement tools. This quick and efficient use of guideline tools will enable the medical center to improve the quality of care it provides heart failure patients, save lives and, ultimately, reduce healthcare costs by lowering the recurrence of heart attacks.