Get with the Guidelines is a quality improvement initiative of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. It provides hospital staff with tools to follow proven, evidence-based guidelines and procedures to improve outcomes, prevent future hospitalizations and prolong life for patients battling the effects of heart disease and stroke.

This year, Lakewood Regional earned a Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award for excellent care and treatment of patients with heart failure.  Gold Plus is the highest award available and is given only to hospitals with 85% or higher adherence to the program indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals, and are at 75% or higher compliance with four of nine program measures to improve quality of patient care and outcomes.

Cardiac Excellence 

Lakewood – The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has chosen Lakewood Regional Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care. Blue Distinction is a national program that the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association hopes will create an unprecedented level of healthcare transparency. Through this type of recognition, Blue Cross hopes to achieve two goals: to engage health care consumers to provide for more informed healthcare decisions, and to collaborate with providers to improve quality outcomes and affordability.

“We are very pleased to receive this important recognition from Blue Cross,” says Joe Badalian Chief Executive Officer of Lakewood Regional Medical Center Medical Center. “As always, Blue Cross and Blue Shield is showing leadership and forward-thinking in providing avenues for hospitals and consumers to share information in a positive and productive way.”

Badalian partially attributes the hospital’s new distinction as a Center of Excellence to the facility’s recently expanded Heart & Vascular Center. Last year’s $10 million renovation helped improve cardiac facilities and update technology to meet rising demands from an aging community.

 “We can expect more patients now that we are a certified Center of Excellence,” Badalian said. He said many patients and referrals will come to the hospital because of the new designation that otherwise might have gone to other facilities.

As a designated Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care, Lakewood Regional Medical Center provides a full range of cardiac care services, including inpatient cardiac care,  cardiac catheterization and cardiac surgery. The goal of the Blue Distinction Centers is to give consumers the information they need about complex conditions and procedures and specialty care resources, empowering them to make more effective healthcare decisions.

Selection criteria for the Blue Distinction Centers for Cardiac Care were developed with the objectives of improving overall patient outcomes and delivering better value. The criteria used to designate the Centers were established through collaboration with expert physician panels and national organizations.

• Full-service, accredited impatient hospital facility;
• Program must be performing a required volume of percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgeries and provide a full range of services including inpatient cardiac care and cardiac rehabilitation;
• Sub-specialty board certification of cardiac team;
• Ongoing quality management and improvement programs; and
• Cardiac care processes and outcomes for acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass graft surgery including evaluation of complication and mortality rates.

Lakewood Regional Medical Center has been recognized with the following awards and distinctions. Click Here

 For a physican refferral Click Here or call (800) 813-4345