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VALLEY BAPTIST PHYSICIANS, NURSES PROVIDE LIFE-SAVING CARE FOR
HEART & STROKE PATIENTS; RESULTS IN NATIONAL “TRIPLE CROWN”
AWARDS
Brownsville, May 16, 2008 --Life-saving care provided
by Valley Baptist employees and physicians have made Valley
Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville and Valley Baptist Medical
Center-Harlingen the only hospitals in the Valley – and two of
only five hospitals in the state of Texas – to receive “Triple
Crown” awards for care of coronary artery disease, heart
failure, and stroke patients from the
American Heart Association and
American Stroke Association.
The national 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. Out of 1,314 hospitals
nation-wide participating in the American Heart Association’s
data base for stroke care, 714 hospitals participating in the
data base for coronary artery disease, and 502 hospitals
participating for heart failure, Valley Baptist-Brownsville and
Valley Baptist-Harlingen were two out of only 29 hospitals
nation-wide who received awards in all three categories.
This is the second straight year that Valley Baptist-Brownsville
has received the three awards; last year VBMC-Brownsville was
one of only 12 hospitals in the country to receive the triple
award. This year, Valley Baptist-Brownsville was the only
hospital in Texas to receive three “silver” awards (indicating
85 percent or greater compliance with national guidelines for at
least 12 consecutive months for care of coronary artery disease,
heart failure and stroke).
“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 of our
employees and the physicians practicing at our hospital, who
have made us the only hospital in Brownsville -- and one of only
two in the Valley -- to receive this triple award for care of
coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure.”
“Congratulations to all of the nurses, physicians, and quality
improvement professionals whose hard work and commitment to
providing quality patient care has earned
Valley-Baptist-Harlingen the Bronze Triple Crown Award,” said
Jim Wesson, FACHE, CEO for VBMC-Harlingen. “This achievement
reflects the physicians’ and employees’ commitment to providing
Valley Baptist patients with a level of care that not only saves
lives but also improves the quality of patients’ lives once they
leave our hospital.”
The accomplishment means that VBMC-Brownsville and VBMC-Harlingen
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.
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 life-saving medications such as tPA, antithrombotics
and DVT prohphylaxis. Patients also receive counseling for risk
factors, as well as thyroid management counseling and referrals
for cardiac rehabilitation, during “teachable moments” before
being discharged from the hospital.
 “The
American Heart Association applauds Valley Baptist Medical
Center-Brownsville and Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen
for their success in implementing the appropriate evidence-based
care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events and
deaths in cardiovascular disease patients,” said
Gregg Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the “Get With The
Guidelines” Steering Committee and Director of Ahmanson-UCLA
Cardiomyopathy Center. “Valley Baptist has achieved a high level
of performance in terms of implementing these life-prolonging
treatments.”
Dr. Fonarow added that the full implementation of recommended
care under national heart failure guidelines is “a critical step
in preventing recurrent hospitalizations and prolonging the
lives of heart failure patients.”
Lee Schwamm, M.D., National “Get With the Guidelines” Steering
Committee Member and director of acute stroke services at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said the American
Stroke Association also commends Valley Baptist for its success
in implementing standards of care and protocols to save lives
and improve outcomes for stroke patients.
Each year in the United States, 700,000 people suffer a stroke,
565,000 suffer a new heart attack, and 5.2 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. For
more information, consult your physician and visit
www.ValleyBaptist.net.
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