Joint Commission and AHA recognize Penn State Hershey’s Heart Failure Program

Two national organizations have recognized the Heart Failure Program at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for quality care.

The Joint Commission, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, has awarded Advanced Certification in Heart Failure to Penn State Hershey. The designation came after an on-site review, at which time Joint Commission experts evaluated compliance with a range of care standards designed to foster better outcomes.

Also, for the second consecutive year, the Medical Center has received the Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award through the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines program. The award recognizes Penn State Hershey for following evidence-based guidelines and ensuring that heart failure patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations. These include aggressive use of certain medical and therapeutic treatments. The Medical Center also received the association's Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll, which signals compliance with additional quality measures related to treatment and follow-up care.

“We are pleased that two well-respected national organizations have recognized the high level of heart failure care offered here at Penn State Hershey,” said Dr. Lawrence Sinoway, director of Penn State Hershey Heart and Vascular Institute. “These distinctions highlight our goal of providing the best possible heart care to the people of central Pennsylvania close to where they live.”

Last fall, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recognized Penn State Hershey for its high-level care of stroke patients with the Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the sixth year in a row. The Medical Center also made the association's Target: Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA.

The distinctions make Penn State Hershey one of just six hospitals in Pennsylvania to have received Gold Plus and Target Honor Roll status for both heart failure and stroke.

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