OSF Saint Francis Heart Hospital - Nationally Recognized for Heart Failure Care
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 21, 2009
OSF Saint Francis Heart Hospital - Nationally Recognized for Heart Failure Care
OSF Saint Francis Heart Hospital has been awarded certification from the Joint Commission in Advanced Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) Care and has earned the Gold Seal of ApprovalTM for health care quality. The Joint Commission awarded the Heart Hospital Disease-Specific Care Certification for Heart Failure, recognizing exceptional efforts to foster better outcomes for heart failure patients.
To earn this distinction, a disease management program undergoes an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of Joint Commission reviewers every two years. The program is evaluated against Joint Commission standards through an assessment of a program’s processes, the program’s ability to evaluate and improve care within its own organization, and interviews with patients and staff.
VAD therapy is an important potential therapy for patients with advanced systolic heart failure. VADs can be used to temporarily support the heart while a patient is waiting for a heart transplant or for attempted recovery of heart function if there is an acute injury such as may occur after a heart attack, cardiac surgery, and in select patients with a cardiomyopathy and more chronic heart failure who may have potential for recovery of heart function. VADs can also be used for chronic support of heart function in patients who are not candidates for heart transplant and have severe advanced heart failure with no other treatment options.“OSF Saint Francis has had an outstanding team dedicated to the treatment of advanced heart failure dating back to 1987 when the heart transplant program was initially launched. The VAD program was initiated in early 1994 and was dedicated as a bridge to transplant,” said Barry Clemson, MD, Cardiologist, Chair, and Physician Champion of the VAD Program. “As devices and technology improved the potential for long term chronic VAD, support was realized. This type of utilization will expand in the future as device size decreases and technology improves. The Joint Commission certification for VAD care is an affirmation to the high quality patient care and dedicated team commitment of our program. It allows us to maintain state of the art care for patients with advanced heart failure and remain on the frontiers of care delivery in this devastating disease,” he stated.
An independent, not-for-profit organization, the Joint Commission is the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in health care. Learn more about certification in heart failure, and visit the Joint Commission at www.jointcommission.org.
