Several NorthLakes Community Clinic locations have been recognized by the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ for implementing quality improvement measures addressing the relationship between diabetes and cardiovascular disease in outpatient settings.
Every 80 seconds, an adult with diabetes in the U.S. is hospitalized for heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. To earn the Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ recognition, organizations must commit to improving the health of their patients through high quality care related to type 2 diabetes and management of cardiovascular risk factors with the ultimate goal of reducing cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, and strokes in people living with type 2 diabetes.
“NorthLakes is dedicated to providing specialized care for patients with type 2 diabetes in managing their cardiovascular risk factors,” said Dr. Deborah Dryer, Chief Medical Officer. “We are pleased to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our execution of quality care through Target: Type 2 Diabetes. The tools and resources provided help us track and measure our success in meeting evidenced-based clinical guidelines developed to improve patient outcomes.”
The Ashland, Iron River, and Minong clinics earned the Participant award which recognizes practices that have completed data submission, including clinical measure entry, and committed to improving quality of care through awareness, detection, and management of type 2 diabetes by educating and empowering patients with evidence-based information and tools.
The Hayward and Lakewood clinics earned the Gold award that recognizes practices that have fulfilled the Participant criteria AND have met the gold level thresholds for each of two selected clinical measures related to diabetes control and CVD risk factors, hypertension and high cholesterol.
The American Heart Association recognizes practices that have completed data submission, including clinical measure entry, and committed to improving quality of care through awareness, detection, and management of type 2 diabetes by educating and empowering patients with evidence-based information and tools.
“More than 30 million Americans live with diabetes and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for people living with type 2 diabetes,” said Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, FAHA, volunteer expert from the American Heart Association and chief of the UCLA Division of Cardiology, director of the Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, and co-director of UCLA’s Preventive Cardiology Program. “Organizations that participate in programs like this help raise awareness of the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease and can improve the patient outcomes. We are pleased to recognize NorthLakes Community Clinic for their commitment to quality care.”