Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital honored for heart failure programs, patient outcomes

Northwestern Medicine Northwestern Medicine Delnor Hospital, along with Central DuPage Hospital, have received the American Heart Association’s GOLD PLUS Get With The Guidelines® — Heart Failure quality achievement award for the hospitals’ commitments to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home, according to a news release.

Both hospitals were also recently recognized as high performing in heart failure by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022-2023 “America’s Best Hospitals” rankings. A hospital’s congestive heart failure score is based on multiple data categories, including patient outcomes, volume, advanced heart programs and more.

About 6.2 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure, the release stated. Despite the name, heart failure doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working — it means the heart is having a hard time pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there’s no cure for heart failure, patients can live a quality life by working with their health care team to create and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes.

The Get With The Guidelines — Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association. According to the press release, Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines.

The program aims to increasing healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients, the release stated.

To learn more about Northwestern Medicine, visit http://news.nm.org/about-northwestern-medicine.html.