Valley Baptist | Triple Recognition

May 7, 2009 -- 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 six hospitals in the state of Texas – to receive “Triple Recognition” awards for care of coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke patients from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association for 2009.

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 about1,525 hospitals nation-wide participating in the American Heart Association’s data base for stroke care, 757 hospitals participating in the data base for coronary artery disease, and 595 hospitals participating for heart failure, Valley Baptist-Brownsville and Valley Baptist-Harlingen were two out of only about 35 hospitals nation-wide who received awards in all three categories.

This is the third year in a row that Valley Baptist-Brownsville has received the three awards; and second straight year for Valley Baptist-Harlingen. This year, Valley Baptist-Brownsville was the ONLY hospital in Texas (and one of only 13 in the entire nation) to receive three “gold” awards (indicating 85 percent or greater compliance with national guidelines for at least 24 consecutive months for care of coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke).

Meanwhile, Valley Baptist-Harlingen was one of only two hospitals 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).

“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 and Valley Baptist-Brownsville the Triple Recognition Awards,” said James Eastham, CEO for Valley Baptist Health System. “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 hospitals.”

“Quality patient care is foremost in all that we do at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville,” added Leslie Bingham, Chief Executive Officer for VBMC-Brownsville. “We are proud of our employees and the physicians practicing at our hospital, who have once again 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.”

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 full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guideline recommended therapy is a critical step in reducing death and disability of cardiovascular disease patients,” said Gregg Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the “Get With The Guidelines” Steering Committee and director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center in California. “The goal of the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines program is to help hospitals like Valley Baptist implement appropriate evidence-based care and protocols that will reduce the number of deaths in these patients and in their communities. Valley Baptist has achieved a high level of performance in terms of implementing these life-prolonging treatments.”

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.