ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.,
Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/
-- MemorialCare has received three American Heart
Association and American Stroke Association Gold Plus
Achievement Awards for implementing quality improvement measures
that ensure cardiovascular and stroke patients receive efficient
and coordinated care, ultimately leading to more lives saved,
shorter recovery times and fewer returns to the hospital.
MemorialCare has also received four American Heart Association
outpatient program awards in recognition for their commitment to
reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke through improving
type 2 diabetes and blood pressure management.
Nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have experienced some form
of cardiovascular disease – including heart attack, stroke and
heart failure. For patients with conditions that are severe enough
to be transported or admitted to a hospital, time is critical.
The American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines
programs help reduce barriers to prompt treatment for
cardiovascular events. As a participant in Get With The Guidelines
programs, MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center and MemorialCare
Saddleback Medical Center applied for the award recognitions by
demonstrating how their organization has committed to improving
quality care for patients.
This year, MemorialCare's northernmost hospital based in
Los Angeles County, Long Beach
Medical Center, received the American Heart Association/American
Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS
with Honor Roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Achievement Award and the Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure
GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll
Achievement Award.
"As healthcare professionals, our mission is to always strive to
offer the best care, and do the very best for our patients," said
Ike Mmeje, chief operating officer, Long Beach Medical Center.
"Awards such as these are a reminder of our patient-centric values
and connection to our purpose."
In addition, MemorialCare's southernmost hospital in South
Orange County, Saddleback Medical Center, received the American
Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The
Guidelines® - Stroke GOLD PLUS with Honor Roll Elite and Target:
Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Achievement Award.
"It is a privilege to receive this award from the American Heart
Association and American Stroke Association and
it reflects the hard work and dedication that our clinical
staff provides every day to our patients in an effort to strive for
excellent cardiovascular care," said Catherine Shitara, chief operating officer,
Saddleback Medical Center. "The Get with the Guidelines
programs help put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a
daily basis to improve outcomes for cardiovascular and stroke
patients."
Saddleback Medical Center has been at award level since 2013 and
Gold Plus since 2014. Long Beach Medical Center has been at award
level since 2008, Gold since 2009 and Gold Plus since 2010.
"We are pleased to recognize MemorialCare's Long Beach Medical
Center and Saddleback Medical Center for their commitment to
cardiovascular care," said Lee H.
Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the American Heart
Association's 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 American Heart Association's
quality improvement programs often see fewer readmissions and lower
mortality rates."
MemorialCare's affiliated medical groups, Greater Newport
Physicians and MemorialCare Medical Group also received the Target:
Type 2 Diabetes℠ Gold and the Target: BP™ Silver recognitions from
the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association
(AMA). Greater Newport Physicians and MemorialCare Medical Group
have been at award level since 2020.
"We're honored to be recognized by the American Heart
Association and American Medical Association for our ongoing
dedication to help patients who choose us for cardiac care," said
Mark Schafer, M.D. Chief Executive
Officer, MemorialCare Medical Foundation. "These achievements are a
testament to the unparalleled level of quality care and services
that we strive to provide to our patients every day."
"Addressing blood pressure management is key for better
cardiovascular health – and critical today since heart disease and
strokes continue to be a leading cause of death for Americans,"
James Langabeer, Ph.D., FAHA,
volunteer expert for the American Heart Association and Professor
and Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine with McGovern Medical School
at The University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston (UTHealth). "We are pleased to recognize
MemorialCare for their commitment to managing the risk factors for
patients around critical risk factors like high blood pressure and
type 2 diabetes."
About MemorialCare:
MemorialCare, a pioneer in
evidence-based medicine and high-value health care, has over 225
care locations; top hospitals—Long Beach Medical Center,
Miller Children's & Women's
Hospital Long Beach, Orange Coast Medical Center and Saddleback
Medical Center; award-winning MemorialCare Medical Group and
Greater Newport Physicians; MemorialCare Research Programs,
MemorialCare Select Health Plan and numerous convenient,
cost-effective outpatient surgery, medical imaging, physical
therapy, breast health, dialysis, urgent care and comprehensive
primary care and specialty care health centers throughout
Southern California.
MemorialCare's many honors include Best U.S. Health Care Systems,
Best Places to Work, Top Performing Medical Groups, selection by
readers and editors of eight newspapers as Best Hospitals and Best
Medical Groups; and Magnet recognition for all its hospitals—the
highest honor for nursing excellence. For more information, visit
memorialcare.org.
About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines®
is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's
hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals
with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal
of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has
touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since
2001. For more information, visit heart.org.
About Target: BP™
Target: BP is a
national collaboration between the AHA and the AMA aimed at
reducing the number of Americans who suffer from heart attacks and
strokes each year by urging physician practices, health systems and
patients to prioritize BP control. The initiative aims to help
health care organizations improve blood pressure control rates
through use of AMA MAP BP™ evidence-based protocol, and recognizes
organizations committed to improving blood pressure control.
About Target: Type 2 Diabetes SM
The
American Heart Association, the world's leading voluntary
organization dedicated to building longer, healthier lives, created
the Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ initiative as a part of the Know
Diabetes by Heart™ effort to raise awareness and understanding of
the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease among
patients, caregivers and health care professionals as well as
empower patients and care givers to better manage risk factors.
The Target: Type 2 Diabetes program supports physicians and care
teams by offering access to the latest research, tools and
resources to provide the latest cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes
management and treatment guidelines.
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SOURCE MemorialCare Health System