Crouse Health Earns Gold Plus Award for Heart Failure Care

Crouse Health has been recognized nationally for the successful way it treats heart failure patients. Crouse recently received the 2017 Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation’s secondary prevention guidelines for patients with heart failure.

Research shows that those who seek care from hospitals where quality improvement measures are followed have better outcomes. Crouse has earned the Gold Plus designation for heart failure several years in a row.

The Get With The Guidelines quality improvement program helps hospital teams follow the most up-to-date, research-based standards with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

Many published studies demonstrate the program’s success in achieving patient outcome improvements. The heart failure team at Crouse earned the award by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the patient, proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. These include ACE inhibitors/ARBs, beta-blockers, diuretics, anticoagulants and other appropriate therapies. Before patients are discharged, they also receive education on managing their heart failure and their overall health. A follow-up visit is also scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

Crouse Health’s Cardiac Care Services
Crouse Health offers a complete range of interventional and diagnostic care, including the region’s only pediatric cardiac catheterization program. Working in partnership with the Crouse ER team and regional EMS providers, Crouse has among the lowest ‘door-to-balloon’ times in the region. Crouse is also the first in Central New York to offer the Watchman minimally invasive implantable device for patients with atrial fibrillation.