PLACENTIA, Calif. – May 25, 2010 – The American Heart Association recognized Placentia-Linda Hospital for its performance in treating cardiac and stroke patients using the association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM program. Placentia-Linda Hospital received the Heart Failure Gold Performance Achievement Award for the second year in a row. The recognition signifies that Placentia-Linda Hospital has reached an aggressive goal of treating heart failure patients with 85% compliance for at least 24 months 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 GuidelinesSM 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 to prevent future hospitalizations.
Under Get With The GuidelinesSM–Heart Failure, 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 and thyroid management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before being discharged. Placentia-Linda Hospital has been successful in implementing these quality measures for July 2006–June 2008 and again for July 2007-June 2009.
“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 like Placentia-Linda Hospital 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 each year more than 292,200 people will die of heart failure.
“Placentia-Linda Hospital is dedicated to making our care for heart failure patients among the best in the country and implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure program will help us accomplish this goal by making it easier for our professionals to improve the long-term outcome for these patients,” said Fred Valtairo, Associate Administrator, Quality Director.
Placentia-Linda Hospital, part of Tenet California, is a 114-bed acute care hospital located at 1301 N. Rose Drive in Placentia. Since opening its doors in 1972, the hospital has grown into a multi-service facility. Specialties include gastroenterology services, orthopedic and joint replacement services, Spine Center, general surgery, minimally invasive surgery, a 24-hour emergency department, Imaging Center including Open High Field MRI and all digital technology as well as a comprehensive free health program for seniors.
Placentia-Linda employees and physicians are dedicated to providing quality health care with a personal touch. We strive to provide our patients the best possible quality care and customer service you’ve come to expect. Placentia-Linda is fully accredited by the Joint Commission. To learn more about Placentia-Linda Hospital, we invite you to please visit our web site at www.placentialinda.com or call us at (714) 993-2000.