MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Recognized with Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for Outstanding Management of Heart Failure Patients

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center has received the Get With The Guidelines^®–Heart Failure Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for its outstanding efforts in managing patients experiencing heart failure. The award recognizes hospitals that successfully implement specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation’s secondary prevention guidelines for patients with heart failure.

The Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure program helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based care with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients. Launched in 2005, numerous published studies have demonstrated the program’s success in achieving patient outcome improvements, including reductions in 30-day readmissions.

“MedStar Montgomery is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our heart failure patients, and implementing this program helps us accomplish that goal by tracking and measuring our success in meeting internationally respected guidelines,” said Thomas J. Senker, FACHE, president of the hospital. “It’s a true testament to the hard work of our team.”

To receive the Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence with all Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure measures and 75 percent or higher compliance with four or more measures for two or more consecutive years. Quality measures evaluated include the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies such as ACE inhibitors/ARBs, beta-blockers, diuretics, anticoagulants, and other appropriate therapies. Patients must also receive education before they are discharged on managing their heart failure and overall health.

“We are pleased to recognize MedStar Montgomery for its commitment to heart failure care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee and executive director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital.“ “Research has shown there are numerous benefits to patients who are treated at hospitals that have adopted the program.”

According to the American Heart Association, about 5.7 million adults in the United States suffer from heart failure. Statistics show that each year about 870,000 new cases are diagnosed and about 50 percent of those diagnosed will die within five years. However, many heart failure patients can lead a full, enjoyable life if their condition is properly managed.

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center is a 138-bed not-for-profit hospital serving the greater Baltimore and Washington metropolitan areas. A proud member of MedStar Health, MedStar Montgomery is committed to delivering the latest in modern medicine and medical technology.