HCA Florida Northside Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll 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 (HF). Despite the name, HF 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 HF, 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.
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. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines. The program aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
“HCA Florida Northside Hospital is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines,” Valerie Powell-Stafford, CEO HCA Florida Northside Hospital. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in our community can experience longer, healthier lives.”
“We are pleased to recognize the leaders and teams at HCA Florida Northside Hospital for a strong commitment to caring for people with heart failure,” said Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., MSc, MACC, FAHA, MACP, FHFSA, national chairperson of the American Heart Association Heart Failure systems of care advisory group and chief, division of cardiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. “Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines quality improvement programs often see better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”
HCA Florida Northside Hospital is also recognized on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll. Hospitals on the Honor Roll meet specific criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination, and enhances patient education. The goal is to further reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.
HCA Florida Northside Hospital additionally received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to heart disease or stroke.
About HCA Florida Northside Hospital
Serving the community since 1976, HCA Florida Northside Hospital is a 288-bed hospital, offering a full range of services including comprehensive and interventional stroke care, preventative and corrective cardiac care, full-service orthopedic and spine treatment an ER 24/7®, and general surgery. As one of the first hospitals in the area to achieve Atrial Fibrillation Certification (SCPC), our technologically advanced hospital allows our highly skilled physicians, nursing, and caregivers to serve our growing community. HCA Florida Northside Hospital is the first nationally recognized Comprehensive Stroke Center in Pinellas County and nationally recognized for quality and safety by earning an ‘A’ Patient Safety grade from the Leapfrog Group Spring 2020 and 2021. Our employees voted us a Tampa Bay Times Top Workplace in 2020. With campus-based specialized services including the Tampa Bay Heart Institute and the Neuroscience Institute for Interventional Neuroradiology and neurologic care, HCA Florida Northside Hospital continues to enhance and expand its services to better serve the community.
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.