BVHS Recipient Of American Heart Association Honors

(From Blanchard Valley Health System)

Blanchard Valley Health System recently received two honors from the American Heart Association.

BVHS is the recipient of a Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Silver Award (Adult). Separately, the health system earned a Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Award with Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.

“BVHS is pleased to be recognized by the American Heart Association for its commitment to improving patient care by adhering to the latest resuscitation and stroke treatment guidelines,” said Roxanne Williams, director of corporate quality and patient safety. “BVHS and its associates work hard every day to provide the best possible care to residents of Northwest Ohio in so many ways, and keeping up to date with these potentially life-saving guidelines as they evolve is a part of this effort.”

The resuscitation quality achievement award demonstrates the health system’s commitment to treating in-hospital cardiac arrest, ultimately helping to improve survival rates.

Each year, more than 300,000 adults and children experience an in-hospital cardiac arrest. Survival from cardiac arrest largely depends on timely medical emergency team response and effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

The Get With The Guidelines – Resuscitation program was developed to help save the lives of patients who experience in-hospital cardiac arrests by consistently following the most up-to-date research-based guidelines for treatment as outlined by the American Heart Association. Guidelines include following protocols for patient safety, medical emergency team response, effective and timely resuscitation (CPR) and post-

resuscitation care. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure the care provided to patients is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines.

BVHS received the award for meeting specific measures in treating adult patients who experience cardiac arrest in the hospital.

The Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Award indicates the organization’s commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines, ultimately leading to more lives saved and reduced disability.

Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death, and a leading cause of disability in the United States. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability, and accelerating recovery times.

Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines – Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.

Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.

To earn the Target: Stroke Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award, BVHS had to demonstrate its commitment to meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.

The Target: Type 2 Honor Roll award recognizes the health system’s commitment to ensuring that 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 stroke.

“Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines often see improved patient outcomes and improved survival rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities,” said Tia Raymond, M.D., national chairperson of the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Systems of Care Advisory Group and a pediatric cardiac intensivist at Medical City Children’s Hospital, in Dallas.