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NUMC RECOGNIZED FOR IMPLEMENTING QUALITY HEART DISEASE AND STROKE CARE IN THE “”AMERICA’S BEST HOSPITALS””AUGUST ISSUE OF US NEWS & WORLD REPORT TO COMMEMORATE RECEIPT OF GET WITH THE GUIDELINES SILVER PLUS PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2010

PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055

NUMC RECOGNIZED FOR IMPLEMENTING QUALITY HEART DISEASE AND STROKE CARE IN THE “AMERICA’S BEST HOSPITALS”AUGUST ISSUE OF US NEWS & WORLD REPORT TO COMMEMORATE RECEIPT OF GET WITH THE GUIDELINES SILVER PLUS PERFORMANCE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.

East Meadow, NY… — Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) has been recognized for achievement in using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best possible care to patients through The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines program.

NUMC and 814 other hospitals are featured in a special advertisement in the “America’s Best Hospitals” issue of US News & World Report (August issue) to commemorate their receipt of Get With The Guidelines Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award. A total of 961 awards were given for achievement in coronary artery disease, stroke and/or heart failure treatment. 

Hospitals recognized in each category achieve at least 85 percent compliance to Get With The Guidelines measures. Those achieving 85 percent compliance for 24 consecutive months receive the Gold Performance Achievement Award, with the Silver Performance Achievement Award going to those with 85 percent compliance for 12 consecutive months. Special recognition is also given for those hospitals achieving 85 percent compliance in two or all three categories and/or for being in 75 percent compliance with heart failure and/or stroke measures.

Get With The Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients following the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Currently more than 1,400 hospitals participate in the program.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s advertisement recognizes NUMC’s commitment and success in performance achievement. Lyn D. Weiss, MD, chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at NUMC congratulated Dr. Ricardo (Eric) Cruz, director of the brain injury unit at NUMC, and his team on this prestigious recognition, “This accomplishment is a reflection on you as a leader and your team as a unit. You have done an amazing job taking a bad situation with a poor outcome and elevating it to an award winning level, great work!”

“The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize its top Get With The Guidelines participants,” said. Lee Schwamm, M.D., national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines steering committee, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chairman of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Healthcare providers who use Get With The Guidelines are armed with the latest evidence-based guidelines and immediate access to clinical decision support, using a set of tools that have been shown to improve delivery of evidence-based care. The goal of this initiative is to improve the quality of life and help reduce deaths and disability among patients with heart disease and stroke.”

Published scientific studies are providing us with more and more evidence that Get With The Guidelines works.  Patients are getting the right care they need when they need it.  That’s resulting in improved survival.”

“We are proud that the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association have chosen the ‘America’s Best Hospitals’ issue of US News & World Report to recognize NUMC for our achievements in their Get With The Guidelines program,” said Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, “Get With The Guidelines gives our professionals the tools and reports they need to effectively treat our coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke patients.”

ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life.  Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community.  By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.

For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.

About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that empowers healthcare teams to save lives and reduce healthcare costs by helping hospitals follow evidence-based guidelines and recommendations.  For more information, visit heart.org/quality.