For working to improve patients’ recovery times and reduce readmissions, the heart failure program at the University of Virginia Heart and Vascular Center has received two national quality awards from the American Heart Association.
The Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Center earned the AHA’s 2017 Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award along with being named to the Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll.
“Each day, our multidisciplinary heart failure team is working to provide excellent care that is tailored to the needs of each patient,” said James Bergin, MD, medical director of UVA’s heart failure/cardiac transplantation program. “It’s wonderful to see our team’s dedication recognized by the American Heart Association.”
UVA earned the awards by meeting or exceeding research-based standards designed to help heart failure patients receive the highest-quality care and recover sooner. Standards include prescribing appropriate medications, implanting devices to help improve heart function, giving flu and pneumonia vaccinations, scheduling prompt follow-up care and providing education to help patients manage their heart failure.
“These awards showcase the ability of our heart failure team to provide comprehensive, quality care for our patients,” said Pamela M. Sutton-Wallace, chief executive officer of UVA Medical Center.
UVA’s team of cardiologists, heart surgeons, nurses and therapists that specialize in cardiac care provide comprehensive care and monitoring for heart failure patients tailored to their individual needs. Services include helping patients make diet and lifestyle changes, managing medications, implanting devices that can help manage heart failure and, in certain cases, coordinating heart transplants.
After they are discharged from the hospital, heart failure patients at UVA can also benefit from a pair of follow up programs. The Hospital to Home program brings patients back to a nurse practitioner for a clinic visit four to seven days after discharge to answer questions and adjust medications as needed. For patients who live within 60 miles of UVA, the Heart Health at Home program provides regular follow-up visits from a certified nursing assistant that are supervised by a nurse practitioner.
