MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center Recognized with American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Gold Plus Awards for Heart Failure and Stroke Care

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center has received the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, as well as the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines® - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award. The awards recognize Long Beach Medical Center's commitment to ensuring heart failure and stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines founded in the latest scientific evidence.

Long Beach Medical Center earned the awards by meeting specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure and stroke patients at a set level for a designated period. These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and aggressive risk-reduction therapies. Before discharge, patients receive education on managing their overall health, get a follow-up visit scheduled, along with other care transition interventions.

"Long Beach Medical Center is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our heart failure and stroke patients by implementing the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get with the Guidelines initiatives," says Ike Mmeje, chief operating officer, Long Beach Medical Center. "With acute stroke care, time is brain. These tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes."

Long Beach Medical Center also is recognized with the Association's Target: Heart Failure^SM Honor Roll, Target: Stroke^SM Elite and Target: Type 2 Honor Roll awards. To qualify for these recognitions, Long Beach Medical Center must meet additional quality measures.

"We are pleased to recognize Long Beach Medical Center for their commitment to heart failure and stroke care," says Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson, Quality Oversight Committee, and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. "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."

About MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center:
MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center has been providing the community with compassionate, quality health care for more than 100 years. While leading in specialized care, research and education, Long Beach Medical Center uses the most advanced health care technologies – it is the only hospital in L.A. County with the innovative ExactechGPS^® and ExcelsiusGPS^® surgical systems. Long Beach Medical Center is ranked no. 7 in the Los Angeles Metro Area by U.S. News & World Report and has earned Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. With leading centers for cancer, heart, rehabilitation, orthopedics, neurology and trauma, physicians and surrounding hospitals continually refer to its accredited programs. For more information, visit memorialcare.org/LongBeach.

About Get With The Guidelines
Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With The Guidelines^® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with tools and resources to increase adherence to the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org/quality.

SOURCE MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center