Mountain Health Network hospitals earn national recognition for efforts to improve cardiovascular treatment

Monday, September 20, 2021

St. Mary’s Medical Center (SMMC) and Cabell Huntington Hospital (CHH), members of Mountain Health Network (MHN), have received three American Heart Association Achievement Awards for implementing quality improvement measures that ensure cardiovascular patients receive efficient and coordinated care, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer returns to the hospital.

SMMC received the Get With the Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the 11^th consecutive year, while CHH received the award for the eighth consecutive year. In addition, both hospitals received the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award, while CHH also received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll award.

SMMC, home of the MHN cardiovascular center of excellence, also received the Get With the Guidelines®-Heart Failure Gold Plus with Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award and the Get With the Guidelines®-Resuscitation Gold Award.

“Mountain Health Network is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to helping our patients have the best possible survival rate and recovery time after cardiovascular events,” said Hoyt Burdick, MD, chief medical officer, MHN. “The Get with the Guidelines program helps put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis to provide highly reliable care and consistently improve outcomes for cardiovascular patients.”

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 program helps reduce barriers to prompt treatment for cardiovascular events. As participants in the Get With the Guidelines program, CHH and SMMC applied for the award recognitions by demonstrating how their organizations have committed to improving quality care for patients.

“We are pleased to recognize Mountain Health Network for its commitment to cardiovascular care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, MD, 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.”

SMMC was named a MHN Cardiovascular Center of Excellence in October 2019. To be named a MHN Center of Excellence, the clinical area must be recognized by the medical community, the public and accrediting bodies as providing the most expert and highest level of compassionate and innovative care.

For more information about the MHN Cardiovascular Center of Excellence at SMMC, visit www.st-marys.org. For more information about CHH stroke care, visit www.cabellhuntington.org.