Holy Cross Health Receives Heart Failure Gold Plus Award from American Heart Association

The American Heart Association presents Get With The Guidelines® Heart Failure Gold Plus Award for proven dedication to ensuring all heart failure patients  have access to best practices and lifesaving care  

Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Heart Failure Gold Plus quality achievement award for its commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure, meaning reduced readmissions and more healthy days at home, as well as recognition on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll and the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll™.

“At Holy Cross Health we are committed to excellence in patient care and outcomes,” said Holy Cross Health President and CEO Mark Doyle. “Our teams continue to adhere to the highest standards in care so our patients can experience longer, healthier lives.”

Hospitals receiving the Get With The Guidelines® Gold Plus Achievement Award have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association® for two consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period.

“It is a great honor for our team to receive this designation again. We are just beginning to touch the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we can offer patients with heart failure and cardiomyopathy,” said Joshua Larned, M.D., Holy Cross Medical Director of Heart Failure Services. “From compassionate care to our team-based approach, medications, exercise, nutrition, devices, clinical trials, interactive platforms and more, we look forward to a bright future in heart failure management and recovery.”

Each year, program participants qualify for the award recognition by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for HF patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their HF at home.

“This designation reflects our passion to assist our community make personalized life and health-changing decisions,” added Elias Collado, M.D., Holy Cross heart failure specialist. “Looking forward for great ongoing team efforts.”

Approximately six million U.S. adults are living with heart failure (HF), a number that is expected to increase to more than eight million by 2030.[1] Despite the name, HF doesn’t mean that the heart has stopped working – it means the heart is having a hard time pumping blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there’s no cure for HF, patients can live a quality life by working with their health care team to create and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes.

Holy Cross Health is also recognized on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart FailureSM Honor Roll, for hospitals achieving all five Target: Heart Failure care components for 50% or more of eligible patients with heart failure discharged from the hospital consistent with the time frame that is associated with the achievement award being submitted, and the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll™, for hospitals that ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to heart disease or stroke. The goal is to further reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing these health conditions.

“We are pleased to recognize the leaders and teams at Holy Cross Health for a strong commitment to caring for people with heart failure,” said Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., MSc, MACC, FAHA, MACP, FHFSA, national chairperson of the American Heart Association Heart Failure systems of care advisory group and chief, division of cardiology at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. “Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines quality improvement programs often see better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities.”

About Holy Cross Health
A member of Trinity Health, Fort Lauderdale-based Holy Cross Hospital, dba Holy Cross Health, is a full-service, non-profit, Catholic, teaching hospital operating in the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy. Holy Cross has been recognized for six Types of Care in U.S. News and World Report’s 2023-24 Best Hospital rankings. Through strategic collaborations and a commitment to being a person-centered, transforming, healing presence, the 557-bed hospital offers progressive inpatient, outpatient and community outreach services and clinical research trials to serve as our community’s trusted health partner for life. Holy Cross Health also encompasses Holy Cross HealthPlex outpatient facility, urgent care centers and more than 40 Holy Cross Medical Group physician practices. To learn more about Holy Cross Health, visit holy-cross.com. Connect @holycrossfl.

About Get With The Guidelines 

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 12 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.