Sherman lauded for treatment

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association are recognizing Sherman Hospital for its performance in treating cardiac and stroke patients using the association's Get With The Guidelines program. Sherman Hospital joins 518 other hospitals being featured in an advertisement in the July 21 "America's Best Hospitals" issue of US News & World Report.

GWTG 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 provides three modules that address coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. Currently more than 1,450 hospitals use one or more GWTG modules.

Upon meeting each module's criteria, hospitals are recognized if at least 85 percent of their cardiac or stroke patients are treated and discharged according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's recommendations.

The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's advertisement recognizes Sherman Hospital's commitment and success in performance achievement.

"The American Heart Association is pleased to recognize its top Get With The Guidelines participants," said Dr. Gregg C Fonarow, national chairman, Get With The Guidelines steering committee and director, Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.

"The program makes it easier for hospitals like Sherman to provide appropriate evidence-based care and ultimately improve the quality of life and help reduce the number of deaths in these heart and stroke patients."

Get With The GuidelinesSM 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. Experience has shown that 80,000 lives could be saved annually if the coronary artery disease module alone was implemented nationwide. For more information, visit americanheart.org/getwiththeguidelines.