Firelands Regional Medical Center received three American Heart Association achievement awards for implementing quality improvement measures that ensure cardiovascular and cerebrovascular patients receive efficient and coordinated care.

These measures ultimately lead to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer returns to the hospital. This year, Firelands Regional Medical Center received the following achievement awards:

• Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure – GOLD PLUS
• Mission: Lifeline – STEMI Receiving Center – GOLD PLUS
• Get With The Guidelines – Stroke – GOLD PLUS

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline and Get With The Guidelines programs that help reduce barriers to prompt treatment for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. Firelands’ willingness to participate in these programs shows its continued commitment to bring about quality of care by adopting national standards to the community.

As participants in the Mission: Lifeline and Get With The Guidelines programs, Firelands’ performance is watched by the American Heart Association. As a result, the awards recognize Firelands’ commitment and practices to improve the quality of care for patients in the community.

“Achieving gold plus in all three of these categories is a tribute to how hard our associates work at delivering quality care,” said Vice President of Quality and Patient Satisfaction Patty Martin. “At Firelands it is our mission to provide the best care and improve the lives of those we serve.

When a patient arrives at one of our facilities, we want them to know they will be cared for at a place that has a proven track record for helping them in their time of need.”

“We are pleased to recognize Firelands Regional Medical Center for its commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care,” said John Warner, M.D., FAHA, past president of the American Heart Association and executive vice president for health system affairs at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Tex.

“Hospitals that follow the American Heart Association’s quality improvement protocols often see improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”

The Facts About Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Care

Nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have experienced some form of vascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Time is critical for patients with conditions that are severe enough to be transported or admitted to a hospital.

Measures for all of these achievements include: A quick response to each patient, best practices while under the care of the facility, and education for continued wellness after the patients’ discharge.

Time matters in both heart attack and stroke situations. STEMI stands for ST-elevation myocardial infarction and is a type of heart attack that completely blocks off blood flow to the heart muscle.

NSTEMI is a partial block of blood flow to the heart muscle. A STEMI is the most serious type of heart attack and is best treated as soon as a patient presents any signs. Signs of a heart attack includes: Discomfort in the arms or chest, shortness of breath, sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.

Stroke recognition can best be remembered by the acronym “be fast.”

• Balance – look for a sudden loss of balance or unsteadiness.
• Eye – notice any changes in vision.
• Face – look for facial droop, or an uneven smile.
• Arm – look for drifting in outstretched arms or inability to hold arms out.
• Speech – listen for changes in speech, slurred words, or inability to speak.
• Time – get to the hospital immediately.

About Mission: Lifeline

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org.

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.