Good Shepherd Earns American Heart Association Recognition

Barrington, Ill.—Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital has earned the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Bronze Quality Achievement Award for outstanding cardiac care. The award recognizes Good Shepherd’s excellent cardiac care physicians and facilities, particularly in the treatment of emergency patients with the most severe type of heart attack.

“This award validates Good Shepherd’s constant efforts to improve the way we deliver cardiac care,” said cardiologist Doug Tomasian, M.D., medical director of Good Shepherd’s cardiology department.  “We have focused recently on streamlining emergency decision-making and communication to ensure that our patients receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible, and our efforts are greatly benefiting our patients.”

He added, “Despite the advances that medicine has made, heart disease remains the number one public health problem in the world. This award highlights Good Shepherd’s commitment to improving heart health and our pursuit of the best therapies and treatments.” Advocate Health Care recently launched its “Our Hearts Beat as One” awareness campaign to emphasize cardiac health and women’s heart issues.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, but improvements in medical technology have increased the survival rates dramatically in recent years. Between 1990 and 2005, heart disease deaths decreased by over 34 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mission: Lifeline is an American Heart Association initiative aimed at improving emergency treatment for heart attack patients. The AHA works with hospitals to provide timely access to appropriate, effective treatments that enhance the quality of care.

Good Shepherd’s Kocourek Family Cardiac Care Center provides comprehensive treatment in a state-of-the-art facility.  Good Shepherd’s experienced cardiovascular surgeons perform more open-heart surgeries than any other group in northern Illinois and offer a range of advanced cardiac services, including minimally-invasive heart valve replacement.

Good Shepherd’s cardiac center is also recognized for its unique approach to treating cardiovascular patients.  Known as the “Universal Bed” model, it is one of only a handful of such programs in the U.S.  This unique cardiac care-giving approach means that Good Shepherd open heart surgery patients remain in the same room in the center for their entire stay, rather than being moved to other post-operative floors as their condition improves, as most hospitals typically do.  Instead, the skill set of the medical team adjusts to the patient as his or her recovery progresses. 

Learn more about Advocate cardiac care at http://inspiringmedicine.com/heart/ and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital at http://www.advocatehealth.com/gshp/ or by calling 1.855.ONE.HEART (1.855.663.4327).

About Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington is a medical care facility with approximately 700 physicians representing 50 medical specialties. Highly skilled physicians and clinical professionals provide a comprehensive range of services including advanced surgical procedures. For 30 years, Good Shepherd Hospital has been providing its patients and communities with quality, compassionate health care, wellness programs and community education. It is also a leader in delivering the most advanced technologies and techniques available in the northwest suburbs. Good Shepherd is part of Advocate Health Care, a Thomson-Reuters Top 10 U.S. Health System and the largest health care delivery system in the State of Illinois.

For more about Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital: www.advocatehealth.com/goodshep