CUMMING — Northside Hospital-Forsyth has earned top honors in the care it provides its heart failure patients, becoming one of three hospitals in Georgia to garner the recognition.
The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark represent symbols of quality from their respective organizations.
Forsyth’s Northside location is the only metro Atlanta hospital to received advanced certification in heart failure. The other two hospitals to do so are Redmond Regional Medical Center in Rome and University Hospital in Augusta, according to Katherine Watson, senior public relations specialist for Northside.
“This advanced certification provides us with the opportunity to highlight the exceptional heart failure care Northside Hospital-Forsyth provides,” said Patricia Tyson, director of the Northside Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team of physicians, nurses and staff, who continually strive to advance our care even further each and every day.”
To receive the two-year advanced certification in heart failure, the hospital underwent an on-site review by experts from The Joint Commission, who evaluated the hospital’s compliance with disease-specific care standards and heart failure-specific requirements.
The certification recognizes heart-failure programs that include either a hospital-based and hospital-owned outpatient heart-failure clinic or have a relationship with one or more attending cardiology practices.
They also must have achieved at least a bronze level of performance from the AHA’s Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure program and have a comprehensive heart failure-focused program staffed by qualified medical professionals.
More than an estimated 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body’s other organs, according to the AHA. Although the heart keeps working, it is not as effective as it should be.
Each year, about 825,000 new cases are diagnosed and more than 275,000 will die of heart failure.
However, many patients can lead a full life through a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.
Northside Hospital-Forsyth offers a range of diagnostic, treatment and support services, encompassing the entire continuum of care for the heart and vascular patient.
A team of board-certified cardiologists, vascular surgeons, cardiac-trained nurses and technologists at Northside has the highest level of expertise in diagnosing and treating disorders such as coronary artery blockages, congenital heart defects, heart failure and stroke.
Earlier this year, Northside Hospital-Forsyth received AHA’s Get With The Guidelines Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for heart failure.
It also garnered AHA’s Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center Gold Level Recognition Award, Get With The Guidelines Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award for stroke, and the ACTION Registry-Get With The Guidelines Gold Performance Achievement Award for quality care in the treatment of acute myocardial infraction patients.
In addition, the hospital is a The Joint Commission Advanced Primary Stroke Center and an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
For more information, visit northside.com/heartandvascular.