(Phoenix), Arizona, July 20, 2018
Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center has received special recognition by the American Heart Association for providing quality care to heart failure patients.
The hospital was awarded with the Association’s Get With The Guidelines—Heart Failure Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award, which recognizes hospitals’ commitment to ensuring heart failure patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence to help speed recovery and reduce hospital readmissions.
St. Joseph’s earned the “Silver Plus” award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients at a set level for two years. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on how to manage their heart failure and overall health, have a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions. Tools and resources provided by this program help track and measure success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.
“We are pleased to recognize Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center for their commitment to heart failure care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
According to the American Heart Association, more than 6.5 million adults in the U.S. are living with heart failure. Many heart failure patients can lead full, enjoyable lives when their condition is managed with proper medications or devices, and with healthy lifestyle changes. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 6 million patients since 2001.
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About Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
Located in the heart of Phoenix, Ariz., St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center is a 586-bed, not-for-profit hospital that provides a wide range of health, social and support services with special advocacy for the poor and underserved. St. Joseph’s is a nationally recognized center for quality tertiary care, medical education and research. It includes the internationally renowned Barrow Neurological Institute, the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center and Norton Thoracic Institute. U.S. News & World Report routinely ranks St. Joseph’s among the best hospitals in the United States for neurology and neurosurgery. For more information please visit our website at
www.dignityhealth.org/stjosephs.
