San Ramon Regional Medical Center Receives Quality Achievement Awards

American Heart Association recognizes SRRMC’s commitment to quality care

San Ramon, Calif. – San Ramon Regional Medical Center has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award and the Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, and also qualified for recognition on the Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll. These awards recognize the hospital’s commitment to ensuring patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence.

San Ramon Regional Medical Center earned these awards by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and heart failure patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and treatments aligned with the most up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing hospital readmissions. Before discharge, patients should also receive education on managing their condition and plans on follow-up care.

“We are dedicated to improving the quality of care for our stroke and heart failure patients by implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines initiatives,” said Ann Lucena, CEO of San Ramon Regional Medical Center. “The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”

Additionally, San Ramon Regional Medical Center received the association’s Target: Stroke Elite Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

“We are pleased to recognize San Ramon Regional Medical Center for their commitment to stroke and heart failure care,” said Eric E. Smith, M.D., 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 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. More than 6.5 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure, according to the AHA. 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.