Achieving an AHA certification demonstrates to patients, health care organizations, and the public, that the health care professional has met national performance standards specific to their job role.
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1924, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
Citadel of Wilmette receives Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification from the American Heart Association
Citadel of Wilmette has earned the Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification offered by the American Heart Association®. This certification acknowledges the efforts of skilled nursing facilities to consistently provide high-quality patient care, improve outcomes and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.
The Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification builds on the Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure quality improvement program and provides skilled nursing facilities tools to bridge gaps and integrate standardized care, quality initiatives, clinical best practices and the latest scientific guidelines into their Post-Acute heart failure patient care processes.
“Participation in this certification benefits the patient and the facility by standardizing care coordination practices between discharge and the skilled nursing facility,” said Ileana L. Piña, MD, MPH, FAHA, professor of medicine at Wayne State University and a heart failure/transplant cardiologist who helped develop the criteria for the certification. “When there is clear communication between every phase of care, patients have the best opportunity for positive outcomes.”
Many heart failure patients admitted to skilled nursing facilities after being discharged from the hospital are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days.
“Heart failure patients need high-quality Post-Acute care that follows the evidence-based guidelines promoting the best patient outcomes,” said Lisa Trudeau, VP of Operations. ” At Citadel of Wilmette, we want to be trailblazers and continue to utilize innovative methods to give our heart failure patients the best care. The American Heart Association has armed us with additional tools and recognized our success — it is an honor to have our processes and efforts recognized in this way.”
To be eligible to receive this certification, the facility must be in the U.S. or operated by the U.S. government and implementing a heart failure program that uses a standardized method of delivering clinical care based on current evidence-based guidelines. Learn more about this certification and others at heart.org.
The Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Citadel Healthcare is a medically supervised program aimed at improving cardiovascular health for those recovering from:
- Heart attack
- Heart conditions such as coronary artery disease (CAD), angina or congestive heart failure (CHF)
- Heart procedure or surgery, including coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), including coronary angioplasty and stenting or valve replacement
How does the Cardiac Rehab program work?
Citadel Healthcare is the premier facility for cardiovascular rehabilitation, dedicated to fighting complex heart conditions and diseases. With access to world-class physicians and top-level medical services, we are transforming the way cardiovascular care is delivered. Here, you will learn ways to manage heart failure and live a happy, healthy life.
- You and your doctor will receive personalized care plans and progress reports to help you achieve optimal health outcomes.
- We will provide exercise training, emotional support and education about lifestyle changes to reduce your heart disease risk, such as eating a heart-healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight and quitting smoking.
- We will provide access to an integrated team of experts
- We will ensure a comfortable, home-like environment, including private rehab suites and concierge services.
