EJGH Earns Second Consecutive AHA Gold Performance Award

East Jefferson General Hospital is excited to end the year with a heart-healthy, award-winning program. We were very proud a year ago when the American Heart Association examined our cardiac heart failure program and gave us their highest honor – the Get With The Guidelines Gold Performance Achievement Award for our outstanding clinical outcomes in treating patients diagnosed with heart failure. EJGH was the only hospital in our area to receive this award for heart failure.

Now, we are even more thrilled to be the only hospital in our area to receive this award for two consecutive years. This is such a special distinction for our physicians, nursing staff, and everyone throughout the organization. What makes this award so special is that it is not based on treating a small sampling of patients. It is based on how we administer care to our patients over the course of multiple years. That means we are consistently meeting or exceeding the standards set by one of the country’s most prominent organizations over an extended time frame.

“Earning the Gold Performance Award clearly demonstrates East Jefferson General Hospital’s commitment to their patients and to patient care,” says Dr. Fortune Dugan, EJGH Cardiologist. “It means that every patient admitted to East Jefferson General Hospital with heart failure is carefully evaluated and followed to ensure that they have received all of the treatment modalities necessary for their disease. This is a team effort and includes diagnostic testing as well as medical therapy, lifestyle changes, diet, and physical activity. We are extremely pleased that the American Heart Association has looked at our program and recognized us for the job that we are doing.”

The Get With The Guidelines program is a quality improvement initiative that provides hospital staff with the tools that follow proven, evidence-based guidelines and procedures in caring for heart failure patients. Earning the Gold Performance Award means that a hospital has met the core standard levels of care developed by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology for at least 24 consecutive months.

As defined by the American Heart Association, heart failure patients under the Get With The Guideline initiative are started on aggressive risk-reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, aspirin, diuretics and anticoagulants while in the hospital. In addition, patients receive counseling and referrals for cardiac rehab, smoking cessation, and other health education individual to their care.

“The Get With The Guidelines program is one of our most important clinical initiatives,” says Julia Mora-Guillot, Senior Director of Healthcare Quality for the American Heart Association. “The goals intentionally challenge hospitals to give their patients care based on evidence-based practices proven to offer the best possible outcomes. The fact that East Jefferson qualified for the highest award possible speaks volumes about the care they provide.”