South Nassau Earns Prestigious Award for Excellence in Heart Disease Care
South Nassau Communities Hospital has been awarded a Gold Performance Achievement Award in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM (GWTG) program.
Oceanside, NY, September 13, 2009 --(PR.com)-- In recognition of its compliance with best-practice clinical guidelines in cardiac care, South Nassau Communities Hospital has been awarded a Gold Performance Achievement Award in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The GuidelinesSM (GWTG) program.
This marks the third consecutive year that South Nassau has been recognized by the program for achieving high standards in the treatment of CAD. The program presented South Nassau a Silver Award in 2008 and Bronze Award in 2007.
The GWTG program is a quality-improvement program that helps hospitals provide cardiac and stroke care in accordance with the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. Hospitals that continually meet or exceed the nationally accepted standards, or guidelines, improve their quality patient care by turning guidelines into “lifelines”. Upon meeting specific criteria, hospitals are recognized for performance achievement if at least 85 percent of their cardiac or stroke patients are treated and discharged according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s guidelines and recommendations.
Ruth Ragusa, RN, vice president for organizational effectiveness for South Nassau, said, “We will not cease in our pursuit to provide the patients and communities we serve with standard-setting healthcare. Our pursuit to develop and identify best practices is enduring and our goal is to perform at 100%, 100% of the time.”
Research has shown that 80,000 lives can be saved annually if the program’s recommended guidelines for coronary artery disease are implemented nationwide. GWTG was the first hospital-based program to receive the prestigious Innovation in Prevention Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2004. Presently, nearly 2,000 hospitals use one or more GWTG modules.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the age-adjusted rate of deaths attributed to heart disease is down 25.8 percent since 1999. According to the American Heart Association, the main factors that have helped reduce the rate of deaths caused by heart disease include the establishment of guidelines for the treatment and prevention of heart attacks; improvements in medications and in technology; and the timely delivery of appropriate treatments, such as angioplasty or thrombolysis to open blocked coronary arteries.
South Nassau’s Center for Cardiovascular Health is built on those factors. The center treats patients with the combination of advanced technologies and best practices and is equipped with the latest advancements in cardiac digital imaging systems. It performs a wide range of coronary and peripheral interventional procedures, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, and thrombolytic therapy. When providing balloon angioplasty in an emergency, the center consistently achieves a door-to-balloon-time of approximately 70 minutes, which is 20 minutes faster than the medically recommended door-to-balloon time benchmark of 90 minutes.
“The center has been established to meet the pressing need for advanced interventional cardiology services in Nassau County, where the impact of cardiovascular disease grows by the day,” said Jason Freeman, MD, FACC, director of interventional cardiology.
###
This marks the third consecutive year that South Nassau has been recognized by the program for achieving high standards in the treatment of CAD. The program presented South Nassau a Silver Award in 2008 and Bronze Award in 2007.
The GWTG program is a quality-improvement program that helps hospitals provide cardiac and stroke care in accordance with the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. Hospitals that continually meet or exceed the nationally accepted standards, or guidelines, improve their quality patient care by turning guidelines into “lifelines”. Upon meeting specific criteria, hospitals are recognized for performance achievement if at least 85 percent of their cardiac or stroke patients are treated and discharged according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s guidelines and recommendations.
Ruth Ragusa, RN, vice president for organizational effectiveness for South Nassau, said, “We will not cease in our pursuit to provide the patients and communities we serve with standard-setting healthcare. Our pursuit to develop and identify best practices is enduring and our goal is to perform at 100%, 100% of the time.”
Research has shown that 80,000 lives can be saved annually if the program’s recommended guidelines for coronary artery disease are implemented nationwide. GWTG was the first hospital-based program to receive the prestigious Innovation in Prevention Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2004. Presently, nearly 2,000 hospitals use one or more GWTG modules.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the age-adjusted rate of deaths attributed to heart disease is down 25.8 percent since 1999. According to the American Heart Association, the main factors that have helped reduce the rate of deaths caused by heart disease include the establishment of guidelines for the treatment and prevention of heart attacks; improvements in medications and in technology; and the timely delivery of appropriate treatments, such as angioplasty or thrombolysis to open blocked coronary arteries.
South Nassau’s Center for Cardiovascular Health is built on those factors. The center treats patients with the combination of advanced technologies and best practices and is equipped with the latest advancements in cardiac digital imaging systems. It performs a wide range of coronary and peripheral interventional procedures, including balloon angioplasty, stenting, and thrombolytic therapy. When providing balloon angioplasty in an emergency, the center consistently achieves a door-to-balloon-time of approximately 70 minutes, which is 20 minutes faster than the medically recommended door-to-balloon time benchmark of 90 minutes.
“The center has been established to meet the pressing need for advanced interventional cardiology services in Nassau County, where the impact of cardiovascular disease grows by the day,” said Jason Freeman, MD, FACC, director of interventional cardiology.
###
Contact
South Nassau Communities Hospital
Damian J. Becker
516-377-5370
southnassau.org
Damian J. Becker
516-377-5370
southnassau.org
Contact
Categories