Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville Receives
"Triple Crown" State Award For Heart & Stroke Care

Brownsville, May 15, 2007 -- It was just another workday for a Brownsville resident at her office – until she started suffering the symptoms of a stroke. Fortunately, her co-workers took fast action, and she was rushed to Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville. Thanks to dedicated physicians and a stroke-reversing medication called tPA,, not only did the Brownsville resident live, she was able to function without major disability – and was soon able to return to work.

This Brownsville resident is one of hundreds in the Valley who have benefited from the award-winning Heart and Stroke Programs at VBMC-Brownsville. The Brownsville hospital recently became one of only two hospitals in the state of Texas – and the first in South Texas – to receive a coveted “Triple Crown” award from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. The awards program, Get With The Guidelines, is designed to help ensure that the care hospitals provide for coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines.

“Quality patient care is foremost in all that we do at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville,” said Leslie Bingham, Chief Executive Officer for VBMC-Brownsville. “We are proud to be the first hospital south of San Antonio to receive this triple award for care of coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure.”

Ingrid Steinbach, RN, CEN, VBMC-Brownsville Emergency Services Director, said the accomplishment means that VBMC-Brownsville achieved at least 85 percent compliance with core standard levels of care for coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke, as set by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

“This level of achievement shows Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart disease and stroke patients,” added Manolito S. Guerra, RN, MSN, MBA, HCM, CEN, CCRN, Stroke Coordinator and Clinical Supervisor for VBMC-Brownsville’s Emergency Dept.

Under the national protocols, heart patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, diuretics and anticoagulants in the hospital. In the case of stroke, patients may receive tPA, antithrombotics and DVT prohphylaxis. Patients also receive counseling for alcohol and drug use, as well as thyroid management counseling and referrals for cardiac rehabilitation, before being discharged.

“The full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives of patients,” said Gray Ellrodt, M.D., chairman of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee. “The aim of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program is to help hospitals like Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville implement appropriate evidence-based guidelines for care and protocols that will reduce the number of deaths in these patients and in their communities. Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville is well above the national average in terms of implementing these life-saving treatments.”

Each year in the United States, more than 450,000 people suffer a recurrent heart attack, 700,000 people suffer a stroke, and nearly five million suffer from heart failure, according to the American Heart Association. In addition, heart disease and stroke rank as the number one killer of Hispanics in the United States.

Brownsville cardiologists who play a crucial role in the award-winning heart care at VBMC-Brownsville include Dr. Fadi Alfayoumi; Dr. Kim Cockins, Dr. Mark B. Cua, Dr. Christopher Gill, Dr. Jaime Gomez, Dr. Kalim J. Habet, Dr. Robert J. Lootens, Dr. Roberto Robles, and Dr. Jaime Silva. Dr. Habet served as “physician champion” for VBMC-Brownsville’s applications to the American Heart Association awards program for heart failure and coronary artery disease.
Neurologists who serve as physician “champions” for the Stroke Program at VBMC-Brownsville are Dr. Luis Gaitan and Dr. Robert A. Lozano.

The stroke-reversing medication used at VBMC-Brownsville, tPA, is a “tissue plasminogen activator” which dissolves clots that block blood from flowing to the brain. The sooner treatment begins, the better the chances of surviving without disabilities. To be effective, tPA must be administered within a three-hour time span from the onset of a stroke – underscoring the importance of seeking immediate medical attention whenever someone displays symptoms of a stroke.

Valley Baptist has been able to improve care for heart patients and other patients by becoming one of the first health care systems in the country to utilize the Six Sigma approach to quality improvement. Six Sigma is a comprehensive, flexible program which applies facts, data and statistical analysis to manage, improve and re-invent processes – such as the processes used when a patient comes to the hospital with a heart condition.

Valley residents can receive a free stroke screening and vital information about heart disease and stroke during a Stroke Awareness Health Fair which Valley Baptist will hold as part of National Stroke Prevention Month. The free health fair will take place on Saturday, May 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Sunrise Mall in Brownsville (Center Court entrance). For more information, call (956) 698-5911 or 389-1950, or visit www.ValleyBaptist.net.