Firelands honored with heart awards

SANDUSKY — Firelands Regional Medical Center recently received five American Heart Association achievement awards. An award statement highlighted how Firelands demonstrated commitment to current research-based guidelines for the treatment of heart disease and stroke, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital. Through Get With The Guidelines, Firelands obtained distinctions for care ranging from coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes and more. 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. This improvement program puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines. As a participant in Get With The Guidelines programs, Firelands Regional Medical Center qualified for the awards by demonstrating an organization-wide commitment to improving quality care. "We are proud to be recipients of these awards for multiple years," Firelands senior director of quality Sheri Johnson said. "When a patient is dealing with a cardiac event, we want to instill confidence that they will consistently receive quality care at Firelands," Johnson said. "Our achievement of honor roll in multiple categories is a testament to the dependable care our team provides." According to the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association, heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. Stroke ranks as the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. "These awards show Firelands' commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care," said Donald Lloyd-Jones, chair of the American Heart Association's quality oversight committee and chair of the department of preventive medicine at Northwestern Medicine. "By following the American Heart Association's quality improvement protocols, Firelands can help realize our shared vision of improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates — a win for health care systems, families and communities," Lloyd-Jones said. Types of cardiac events Time matters in both heart attack and stroke situations: • STEMI stands for ST-elevation myocardial infarction and is a type of heart attack that completely blocks off blood flow to the heart muscle. This is the most serious type of heart attack and is best treated as soon as a patient presents any signs. • NSTEMI is a partial block of blood flow to the heart muscle. Signs of a heart attack include discomfort in the arms or chest, shortness of breath, sweat, nausea or lightheadedness. Stroke recognition can best be remembered by the acronym "be fast" by understanding the following: • Balance — look for a sudden loss of balance or unsteadiness • Eye — notice any changes in vision • Face — look for facial droop, or an uneven smile • Arm — look for drifting in outstretched arms or inability to hold arms out • Speech — listen for changes in speech, slurred words, or inability to speak • Time — get to the hospital immediately