Mississippi Baptist Medical Center earns gold for heart failure care

JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 1, 2023- The American Heart Association awarded Mississippi Baptist Medical Center its Get With The Guidelines—Heart Failure Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for the hospital’s commitment to improving outcomes for patients with heart failure.

            Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for heart failure patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also provide education to patients to help them manage their heart failure at home. Get With The Guidelines aims to increase healthy days at home and reduce hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

            “Mississippi Baptist Medical Center staff is committed to providing the best heart failure care for our community by implementing best practices utilizing the latest treatment guidelines,” said Bobbie Ware, CEO and administrator of Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. “Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis. The end goal is to ensure more people in Jackson can experience longer, healthier lives.”

             Mississippi Baptist Medical Center has also been recognized on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll. Hospitals on the honor roll meet specific criteria that improve medication adherence, provide early follow-up care and coordination, and enhance patient education. The goal is to further reduce hospital readmissions and help patients improve their quality of life in managing this chronic condition.   

            Mississippi Baptist Medical Center additionally received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll Award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to 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.

            “We are pleased to recognize the leaders and teams at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center for a strong commitment to caring for people with heart failure,” said Dr. Clyde W. Yancy, 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.

          About six million U.S. adults are living with heart failure, a number that is expected to increase to more than eight million by 2030.

          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.

          In 2023, U.S. News & World Report named Mississippi Baptist Medical Center the No. 1 hospital in Mississippi for the fifth year in a row. The hospital was also recognized with the Platinum Performance Achievement Award by the American College of Cardiology for its treatment of heart attack patients. Mississippi Baptist Health Systems signed a shared mission agreement with Baptist Memorial Health Care in May 2017, making Baptist Memorial one of Mississippi’s largest employers and the largest health care system in the state. Baptist Memorial is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and is one of the largest not-for-profit health care providers in the Mid-South with hospitals in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi. For more information, visit https://www.baptistonline.org/locations/jackson or follow us on Facebook.

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