Intermountain Press Release

Provo, Utah—If you are a heart or stroke patient living in Utah County, the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association just released some very good news you'll want to remember.

The 2007 list of hospitals that consistently meet "Get With The Guidelines" requirements is out, and Utah Valley Regional Medical Center made the grade. The Provo hospital received a bronze award for the treatment of coronary artery disease and a silver award for the treatment of stroke.

A bronze award means the hospital has maintained the guidelines for 90 consecutive days and a silver award means the guidelines have been maintained for 12 consecutive months. Three other Intermountain Healthcare facilities also made the list – LDS Hospital, McKay-Dee and Dixie Regional are all recognized.

"This is a remarkable accomplishment for our hospital, as well as for Intermountain as a system," said John Mitchell, MD, medical director of the cardiovascular surgery program at Utah Valley Regional. "What it says is that when you come to Utah Valley Regional to be treated for heart disease or a stroke, you will receive exceptional care."

Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) is an evidence-based program for in-hospital quality improvement. It is designed to help hospitals use the latest scientific guidelines when they care for coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure patients.

Hospitals, physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers who use Get With The Guidelines are armed with the latest evidence-based guidelines for patient care. That means patients can know that the treatment they're getting is best-practice medicine – proven to get the best possible outcome.

Carl Black, MD, interventional radiologist at Utah Valley Regional, likes Get With The Guidelines because "it encourages hospitals to be more proactive in their approach at achieving excellence in stroke care."

In addition, "Get With The Guidelines utilizes specific measures and standards that reflect the current standard of stroke care that is embraced by the national community. The elements measured through this program directly reflect patient outcomes and make a real difference in length and quality of life," said Dr. Black.

According to Maria Black, APRN, nurse administrator for Cardiovascular Services, the guidelines for coronary artery disease include things like ensuring all heart attack patients are discharged from the hospital with specific medications, including things like aspirin, ACE inhibitors, Beta blockers, and lipid-lowering medicine, if indicated. Guidelines for stroke include things like making sure patients receive antithrombotic medications within 48 hours of hospitalization.

"There is evidence that following these guidelines improves the outcome for patients. Intermountain has been committed to best-practice medicine for years. We are constantly monitoring, measuring, and improving the way we care for our patients. Regardless of whether others from the outside were tracking this, we would be tracking ourselves," said Black.