Overlake Receives Top American Heart Association Honors

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Overlake Medical Center & Clinics proudly received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines®–Heart Failure Gold Plus quality achievement award, along with recognition for its care of patients with Type 2 diabetes. These honors reflect the organization’s commitment to improving patient outcomes and reducing the risk of hospital readmission.

An estimated 6.7 million adults in the United States are living with heart failure, and this number is projected to rise to more than 8 million by 2030. Despite the name, heart failure does not mean the heart has stopped working; rather, it indicates the heart is struggling to pump blood and oxygen throughout the body. While there is no cure, patients can manage the condition through medical treatment, symptom monitoring and lifestyle changes developed in partnership with their care teams.

The Get With The Guidelines–Heart Failure award recognizes hospitals consistently following the most current, evidence-based treatment guidelines as defined by the American Heart Association. The program helps ensure care aligns with the latest clinical research and aims to improve quality of life by reducing hospital readmissions and increasing the number of healthy days patients spend at home.

“Here at Overlake, we are thankful for the hard work of our care teams in closely following guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association,” said Jon Duarte, president and CEO of Overlake. “This program helps our teams put proven knowledge into daily practice, ultimately helping patients live longer and healthier lives.”

“We are pleased to recognize the leaders and teams at Overlake for a strong commitment to caring for people with heart failure,” said Sabra Lewsey, M.D., MPH, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Heart Failure System of Care Advisory Group. “Hospitals that participate in Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure often see better patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates, which are wins for families, communities and health care systems.”

Overlake was also recognized with the Target: Heart Failure™ Optimal and Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll™ awards. The Heart Failure Optimal designation is given to hospitals that achieve high performance adherence in providing defect-free care, aimed at reducing readmissions and helping patients manage this chronic condition. The Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll acknowledges hospitals that deliver advanced, evidence-based care to patients with Type 2 diabetes who are hospitalized due to cardiovascular disease or stroke.