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Southeast Hospital Recognized By American Heart Association For Treatment Of Heart Failure Patients

Southeast Hospital has received recognition by the American Heart Association through the “Get Within the Guidelines Heart Failure Silver-Plus Quality Achievement Award.” According to a press release, the hospital has worked to treat heart failure patients using national guidelines.

Director of Quality and Systems Improvement for Missouri, Katie Troll presented the award today to SoutheastHEALTH cardiologist Bryan Beck.   

Beck, the medical director of the hospital’s Heart Failure Team, said the award is not any standard requirement, but was applied for by the hospital.

“We want to follow [our patients] out, and we want to make sure that they don’t have to come back,” he said, with the goal of ensuring they “have good support and good places to turn.”

He added that heart disease is the leading cause of death in Missouri. In 2017, it resulted in 14,280 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“Constantly improving patient care and outcomes at Southeast has always been a big issue for us,” Beck said.

It isn’t all about award presentations and photo-ops, he stated, and a major concern for Southeast is the way using the guidelines of standardized care allows them to improve care, decrease readmission, and ensure better follow-ups and quality of life while at home.

“They just feel better, and they do better,” said Beck, of his patients.

The hospital has also been on the American Heart Association’s Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll for medical facilities that “meet specific criteria that improves medication adherence, provides early follow-up care and coordination and that enhances patient education.”