American Heart Association presents 'Get With The Guidelines' award for dedication to best practices and life-saving care

For Immediate Release July 10, 2023

LA PLATA, Md. (July 10, 2023) — University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center's medical team received a national "Get With The Guidelines" program award June 30 for demonstrating commitment to following up-to-date, research-based guidelines for the treatment of stroke and diabetes, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer readmissions to the hospital.

"Get With The Guidelines" is a program of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association that helps hospitals like UM Charles Regional ensure patient care is aligned with the latest evidence- and research-based guidelines for heart, stroke and diabetes care. As a participant in the program, UM Charles Regional qualified for the Stroke Gold Plus achievement award by demonstrating how its medical team has committed to improving quality care.

Every 40 seconds, someone in the United States has a stroke or heart attack. Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 5 causes of death in the country, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Studies show patients can recover better when providers consistently follow treatment guidelines.

"UM Charles Regional is committed to improving care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines and streamlining processes to ensure timely and proper care for heart attacks and strokes," said Noel Cervino, President and CEO of UM Charles Regional. "The Get With The Guidelines program makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which helps us ensure more people in Charles County experience longer, healthier lives."

The Stroke Gold Plus achievement award is for "hospitals [that] have reached an aggressive goal of treating patients to core standard levels of care as outlined by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for two consecutive calendar years or more. In addition, those hospitals have demonstrated compliance to an additional level of quality during the 24-month or greater period."

UM Charles Regional also received the Target: Stroke Honor Roll designation, which is for hospitals that get acute ischemic stroke patients into therapy in under 60 minutes in 75% or more of cases to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.

The La Plata hospital also earned the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll-Stroke designation, which is for hospitals that achieve an overall diabetes cardiovascular initiative composite score of at least 80%.

"We are pleased to recognize UM Charles Regional for its commitment to caring for those in their community who need cardiovascular care," said John Warner, MD, FAHA, past president of the American Heart Association. "Hospitals that follow the American Heart Association's quality improvement protocols often see improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates – a win for health care systems, families and communities."