OTTAWA — Developed and powered by the Ottawa Heart Institute, the Get with the Guidelines initiative seeks to develop a regionalized approach for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and according to evidence-based practice guidelines in patients admitted to hospitals across the region.
The Heart Institute is proud to announce the successful implementation of best practices in the treatment of Heart Failure and Acute Coronary Syndrome, and in Smoking Cessation by the Pembroke Regional Hospital and the Renfrew Victoria Hospital. Both hospitals are being recognized for their leadership in providing all the essential medical, administrative, and health records support as well as submitting all data to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in order to capture vital information and share their learning.
Through this program, the Heart Institute supports regional hospitals by:
• providing the required educational material and support to physicians and hospital staff, including health records;
• providing a comprehensive implementation toolkit;
• providing website access to site team members which includes a scorecard of partners progress;
• monitoring tool usage; and ensuring that the tools are properly completed
• Using the CIHI discharge abstract database to identify quality assurance issues locally and regionally and a quality improvement plan developed with each hospital to ensure regional 2 and 5 year targets are reached.
“Over this entire process, both Pembroke Regional Hospital and Renfrew Victoria Hospital have shown tremendous leadership and commitment in ensuring the implementation of a solid approach that will empower patients to be more involved with the care they receive,” said Dr. Thierry Mesana, President and CEO of the Heart Institute.
Pembroke Regional Hospital President and CEO Pierre Noel said efforts to reduce readmission rates have long been a priority and being part of this initiative has resulted in positive outcomes which ultimately benefit the patients.
“Significant effort has been put forward to ensure our patients are going home with the correct information, the right education, and helpful information to share with their care providers. Having this tool available which standardizes the care and instruction being given at a patient’s time of discharge is making a big difference in their health outcomes once they are back at home,” Mr. Noel said.
“On behalf of patients, staff and physicians of the Renfrew Victoria Hospital, I would like to thank the Ottawa Heart Institute for the services they continue to offer to our catchment area and the entire region. For our cardiac patients, we are well served by the clinicians of the Ottawa Heart Institute,” said Randy Penney, RVH CEO and President.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is the only independent provider of specialized cardiovascular care for the Champlain Local Health Integration Network, home to over 1.2 million people, and serves more than 40 referral hospitals throughout the province.
