Porter accepts Gold Plus award for heart failure from American Heart Association

2/21/2018

Valparaiso, Ind. – Porter Regional Hospital staff accepted a Gold Plus level award from the American Heart Association on Wednesday, who recognized the hospital’s achievement in the AHA’s Get With The Guidelines program for heart failure. Porter is the only hospital in Northwest Indiana with this achievement.

The AHA hosted a media conference at the hospital to present the award, and to discuss the AHA’s outcomes over the last several months, as well as new blood pressure guidelines.

Accepting the Gold Plus award on behalf of Porter was Daniel Linert, M.D., a cardiologist with Porter Physician Group who co-chairs the health system’s congestive heart failure program.

“On behalf of the heart failure team at Porter Regional Hospital, I’m very pleased to be recognized for our Gold Plus Achievement for heart failure criteria. This means that patients in our community with heart failure have access to a hospital with two or more consecutive years of 85 percent or higher adherence on all achievement measures applicable, and 75 percent or higher adherence with four or more select quality measures in heart failure,” Linert said.

Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure supports hospitals in a variety of ways, including providing access to the most up-to-date research and scientific publications; providing professional education opportunities, such as workshops and webinars; providing access to clinical tools and resources, and patient education resources.

“Achieving the Gold Plus level helps us illustrate we are providing the best care with the best resources out there. I would like to acknowledge and thank the heart failure team at Porter Regional Hospital, including our physicians and nurses, for their continued dedication to providing the highest quality of care of heart failure patients in our community.”

Jay Shah, M.D., director of the echocardiography lab and medical director of the Heart Valve Center for Porter Health Care System, reinforced the importance of recognizing the new blood pressure guidelines released several months ago.

"The American Heart Association Guidelines on hypertension evaluation and treatment represent a significant resource for the clinical and public health practice communities here in Northwest Indiana. Hypertension is responsible for significantly increasing the development of cardiovascular disease, heart attack, congestive heart failure, stroke, peripheral artery disease, kidney disease and abdominal aortic aneurysm. These new guidelines highlight the importance of early detection of hypertension and the appropriate treatment options that should be instituted,” Shah said.

He added that the guidelines also serve to empower our community to take charge of their health, and that simple lifestyle changes focused on dietary modifications and exercise can make a profound impact on reducing blood pressure and the development of associated health effects.

“The key strength of this resource rests in its emphasis on an individualized approach to each patient, and, for the first time, assessing a patient's entire cardiovascular risk profile when determining when to initiate medical treatment. Application of these guidelines will result in improved blood pressure for our region, and most importantly, a dramatic improvement in cardiovascular health and quality of life," Shah said.

Sean Dardeau, CEO of Porter Health Care System, remarked on the staff dedication it takes to maintain the high-tech hear program at Porter.

“This recognition is a reflection of the hard work this team does every day to improve cardiac care in Northwest Indiana. For a hospital this size to offer such comprehensive care is impressive,” Dardeau said. “I want to thank our physicians for leading the charge. Thank you for the advancements you’re making not only in the profession, but also here in Northwest Indiana.”

Diane Kemp, vice president and executive director of the American Heart Association, shared updates about the community CPR Trainings that took place in 2017, continuing through 2018, to increase bystander awareness, in a partnership with The Times Media Co., and American Heart Association to save lives. In Northwest Indian, 4,731 people were trained in CPR in 2017.

“We want the community to feel empowered to know what to do when someone collapses.” Kemp said. “We are excited to continue these free community trainings throughout Northwest Indiana with hopes of saving lives as bystander CPR can more than double one’s chance of survival.”

For more information about the heart services available at Porter Regional Hospital, visit the services section and click on Heart Care. The website features a new online heart risk assessment that can help individuals learn how “old” their heart is, and what their risks of heart disease may be.

For more information about American Heart Association events or CPR Trainings please contact nwicprtraining@heart.org.

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