Hospital Again Earn Gold Award from American Heart Association
CEDARTOWN – For the fifth consecutive year, Atrium Health Polk Medical Center has earned Gold certification from the American Heart Association for the care it provides heart failure patients. The AHA releases its Get With The Guidelines honorees annually.
The Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure quality achievement award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines outlined by the AHA.
The hospital also received the AHA’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award for ensuring that 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 guidelines put the expertise of the American Heart Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research and evidence-based guidelines.
About 6.2 million U.S. adults are living with heart failure. Despite the name, heart failure 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 heart failure, patients can live a quality life by working with their health care team and stick with a plan that may include medication, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes.
“It is not a coincidence that the AHA award ties diabetes care to heart health,” said Tifani Kinard, vice president of Rural Health for Atrium Health Floyd and administrator of the hospital in Polk County. “People with diabetes have a greater chance of heart disease, which is why administering the proper care is so important.”’
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health.
Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,500 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the fifth-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.
