Mercy Health - Cincinnati, which provides advanced, quality, compassionate care in your neighborhood through its care network, announces that Anderson and Clermont hospitals have each received special recognition from the American Heart Association (AHA).

Both Anderson and Clermont hospitals received the Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure Silver Plus Quality Achievement award from the AHA. Anderson Hospital also earned the Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Bronze award from the AHA and the American Stroke Association (ASA). 

The hospitals received the awards for their commitment to ensuring that heart failure and stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence. 

“We are dedicated to providing our heart failure and stroke patients with the most advanced care,” said Ken James, Mercy Health East Market President and CEO. “I congratulate our dedicated nurses, doctors and staff for implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines - Heart Failure and Stroke initiatives. These initiatives help us accomplish our quality and patient care goals by tracking and measuring our success in meeting internationally-respected clinical guidelines.”  

To earn the awards, Anderson and Clermont hospitals met specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure and stroke patients at a set level for a designated period:

  • For heart failure patients, these measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions. 
  • For stroke patients, measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. 
  • Before discharge, all heart failure and stroke patients should also receive education on managing their health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, as well as other care transition interventions.

“We are pleased to recognize Anderson and Clermont Hospitals for their commitment to heart failure and stroke care,” said Eric E. Smith, MD, national chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and an associate professor of neurology at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative can often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

According to the AHA, more than 6.5 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure. Many heart failure patients can lead a full, enjoyable life when their condition is managed with proper medications or devices and with healthy lifestyle changes. According to the AHA/ASA, stroke is the number five cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the US suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

Anderson Hospital is Primary Stroke Center certified by The Joint Commission and Clermont Hospital is Acute Stroke Ready Hospital certified. 

The AHA has also recognized Mercy Health – Fairfield and West Hospitals for excellence in heart failure care.