DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – June 2006 –  Delray Medical Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines awards in three important categories—Heart Failure, Coronary Artery Disease and Stroke.

"We’re extremely proud of the Get with the Guidelines recognition the hospital has received,” said Karen Bibbo, chief nursing officer.  “Delray Medical Center is dedicated to providing cardiac and stroke care that is among the best in the country.  By implementing the Get with the Guidelines programs, we’re making it easier for our professionals to improve the long-term outcome for these patients.”

Get With the Guidelines (GTWG) is a quality improvement initiative that provides hospital staff with tools that follow proven evidence-based guidelines and procedures for cardiac patients in their care.   The awards signify that Delray Medical Center has met stringent requirements during a 90-day monitoring period for each of these three ailments.

Specifically, under the GTWG for heart failure, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta- blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, diuretics and anticoagulants in the hospital.  They also receive alcohol/drug use and thyroid management consulting as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before being discharged.

In the area of coronary artery disease, the goal of the guidelines is to reduce the number of recurrent events in coronary patients.  To help reach that goal, patients are treated with aggressive risk-reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta blockers in the hospital, and they receive smoking cessation and weight management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehab before discharge. 

The GTWG initial performance achievement award for stroke patients addresses the important element of time.  “With a stroke, time lost is brain lost,” said Bibbo.  “Delray Medical Center has developed a comprehensive system for rapid diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients who come into our emergency department.”

This level of stroke care involves being equipped 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide brain imaging scans, having neurologists available to conduct patient evaluations and using clot-busting medications when appropriate.  Treatment for stroke patients also includes the aggressive use of medications like tPA, anthithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol-reducing drugs and smoking cessation.

"The American Stroke Association commends Delray Medical Center for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national GTWG Steering Committee Member and director of acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.  “The full implementation of acute care and secondary prevention recommendations and guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of stroke patients.”

Delray Medical Center, part of Tenet South Florida, is a 403-bed acute care hospital located at 5352 Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach.  The community-based hospital has been serving the health care needs of south and central Palm Beach County for more than 20 years.  Delray Medical Center, a state-designated Level II Trauma Center for adults and children, offers a broad array of specialized services-, ranging from acute care to rehabilitation, and psychiatric services to outpatient care.  For four consecutive years, Delray Medical Center has been the recipient of the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence by HealthGrades, a leading national health care quality group.  In 2005 and for the fourth year in succession, Solucient, a leading health care information company, listed Delray Medical Center as one of the nation’s 100 Top Hospitals. The hospital was also honored with the prestigious Tenet Circle of Excellence award for outstanding performance; the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce’s 2005 Business of the Year award; and its Cardiac Program was named 2005 Hospital-Based Program of the Year by the South Florida Business Journal. Delray Medical Center is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency.  To learn more about Delray Medical Center, visit www.delraymedicalctr.com. 

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