Get With The Guidelines Bronze
Baptist Health Lexington received Get With The Guidelines AFib Bronze Quality Achievement Award
(Lexington, Ky.) July 15, 2019 — Baptist Health Lexington has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - AFib Bronze Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation.
Get With The Guidelines - AFib was developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other complications.
Baptist Health Lexington earned the award for meeting specific quality achievement measures at a set level for a designated period. These measures include providing appropriate medications and aggressive risk reduction therapies to prevent stroke, stabilize the heart rate and rhythm and treat additional heart disease. Before discharge, patients should also receive education and counseling on managing their condition and plans on follow-up care.
“Baptist Health Lexington is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients with atrial fibrillation by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines - AFib initiative,” said Susan Mobley, MBA, BSN, RN, NE-BC, vice president of Cardiac Services. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
“We are pleased to recognize Baptist Health Lexington for their commitment to atrial fibrillation care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the 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 Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”
According to the American Heart Association, more than 2.7 million adults suffer from atrial fibrillation. The condition accounts for about one-third of hospitalizations for cardiac rhythm disturbance and is associated with a five-fold increase risk of stroke. Proper treatment of atrial fibrillation can reduce these risks.