WVU Medicine J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® — Heart Failure Gold Plus and Get With The Guidelines® — Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement awards.
The Get With The Guidelines — Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association. Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. The program aims to increasing healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
About 6 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure (HF), a number that is expected to increase to more than 8 million by 2030. Despite the name, HF doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working — it means the heart is having a hard time pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body.
While there’s no cure for HF, patients can live a quality life by working with their healthcare team to create and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes.
Ruby Memorial Hospital is also recognized on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll. Hospitals on the Honor Roll meet specific criteria that improve medication adherence, provide early follow-up care and coordination and enhance patient education. The goal is to further reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.
Similarly, Get With The Guidelines — Stroke puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines — Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death.
Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S. A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times.
Ruby Memorial also received the American Heart Association’s Target: StrokeSM Elite Honor Roll Award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.
Additionally, Ruby received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll™ award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to heart disease or stroke.
“At Ruby Memorial, heart and stroke care are delivered by the teams at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, respectively. We are fortunate to have these experts right here in Morgantown to provide nation-leading care to the people of West Virginia and the surrounding region,” Michael Grace, president of WVU Hospitals, said.
“Rates of heart disease, stroke and diabetes are high in West Virginia — among the highest in the country. Our patients can rest assured that if they ever need care for these conditions, they need to look no further than WVU Medicine for the world-class care they need.”
