American Heart Association Recognizes La Plata Hospital's Exceptional Work
University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center’s Shellee Stine, RN, BSN, Primary Stroke Center Coordinator, left, and Mary Hannah, RN, BSN, MPH, CDCES, Director of Population Health & Case Management programs, had the programs they lead recognized nationally by the American Heart Association for outstanding service to patients.
LA PLATA, Md. - October 20, 2021 — The University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center received two awards through this year's American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines program.
This year's awards — Stroke Gold Plus with honor roll Elite and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll — recognize the exceptional work done by teams at both the hospital's Center for Diabetes Education and Primary Stroke Center. UM Charles Regional received the Stroke Gold Plus award in 2018 and 2019 as well.
For the Get With The Guidelines program, the American Heart Association (AHA) measures specific quality achievements on a national scale. Only medical facilities meeting these clearly designated criteria are eligible for recognition.
According to the AHA, one in 19 deaths is linked to strokes. To combat this deadly disease, the association recommends proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines. Follow-up care and continued education are also monitored closely.
All of these best practices are met by the UM Charles Regional Primary Stroke Center. "Offering the highest level of care possible is always our top priority," said Shellee Stine, RN, BSN, Primary Stroke Center Coordinator. "Stroke treatment is time sensitive and maintaining readiness is absolutely a lifesaving practice."
The AHA also acknowledges that Type 2 Diabetes is closely correlated with heart failure. As a result, the association now brings attention to this high-risk population with its Honor Roll award. Earning this recognition shows that diabetic patients are offered appropriate resources upon hospital discharge.
For the last five years, UM Charles Regional's Center for Diabetes Education has been instrumental in leading these efforts and following best practices as outlined in the Get With The Guidelines program. In the past year, the hospital also received a $2.1 million grant for amplifying diabetes education in the community.
"It's been really inspiring to have such a big push for diabetes education these past several months," said Mary Hannah, RN, BSN, MPH, CDCES, Director of Population Health & Case Management programs for UM Charles Regional. "We have already grown our community outreach efforts and added educators and new programs. We have great momentum to be able to reach even more people moving forward."
The awards represent UM Charles Regional Medical Center's dedication to providing life-improving and lifesaving services to the community it serves.
"These awards illustrate the two ends of the healthcare range that hospitals provide," said Joseph Moser, MD, UM Charles Regional's Chief Medical Officer. "Diabetes education helps people manage their own health need, while the stroke team responds to emergencies where time is critical. Both are crucial to the community we serve. We are honored to receive these recognitions for our team's hard work."