FORT SMITH, Ark. – Baptist Health-Fort Smith has received the American Heart Association’s Gold Plus Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure quality achievement award for its commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home.
About 6.2 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure . Despite the name, heart failure doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working – it means the heart is having a hard time pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there’s no cure for heart failure, patients can live a quality life by working with their health care team to create and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes.
Baptist Health-Fort Smith also earned the Get With The Guideline Heart Failure Award Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes for meeting specific criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination, and enhances patient education, as well as providing specialized care for patients with diabetes who are at a greater risk of complications.
The Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association. The program aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
“From our emergency room to our cath lab and from the nursing floors to our outpatient cardiology clinics, everyone works to ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines,” said Stephanie Parson, MSN, RN, CAPA, Clinical Quality Executive. “Programs like this are a win for both patients and health care systems. We couldn’t be prouder of our physicians and staff members.”
For information about heart failure treatments available at Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com or call 1-888-BAPTIST.
About Baptist Health
For more than 100 years, Baptist Health has delivered All Our Best in health care through Christian compassion and innovative services. Baptist Health is Arkansas’ most comprehensive health care organization with more than 250 points of access that include 11 hospitals; urgent care centers; a senior living community; over 100 primary and specialty care clinics; a college with studies in nursing and allied health; a graduate residency program; and access to virtual care anytime, anywhere. It is also the largest private not-for-profit health care organization based in Arkansas, providing care through the support of approximately 11,000 employees, groundbreaking treatments, renowned physicians and community outreach programs. For more information about Baptist Health, visit baptist-health.com, call Baptist Health HealthLine at 1-888-BAPTIST or download the myBaptistHealth app. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
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 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.