Submitted by PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth Home Health of Whatcom County has earned Home Health Heart Failure certification from the American Heart Association®, the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all. The certification provides an evidence-based framework for evaluating home health agencies against the American Heart Association’s rigorous science-based standards for heart failure patients, including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management, and quality improvement.
“This certification affirms the lifesaving mission and goal of the American Heart Association to help every person everywhere have the opportunity for a longer, healthier life,” said Kyle G. Lavergne, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, American Heart Association volunteer and founding member of the certification standards writing committee and director of clinical programs of the LHC Group. “We’re pleased to have PeaceHealth Home Health of Whatcom County join the national network of American Heart Association Home Health Heart Failure certified agencies.”
PeaceHealth Home Health of Whatcom County provides a broad range of personalized clinical and rehabilitative services to patients in the comfort of their own home, including attentive monitoring of complex conditions and health concerns, treatments for acute illness, physical and occupational therapy and pain management.
“PeaceHealth Home Health of Whatcom County is proud to receive this certification from the American Heart Association,” said Elisabeth Westover, PeaceHealth system manager for disease management. “The tools and resources provided by the American Heart Association will help us continue to provide education and opportunities for our agencies to work toward quality improvement efforts for our patients with heart failure. This accomplishment reflects our goal to provide quality care.”
The certification signifies confidence that:
- An agency’s heart failure program is based on standards aligned with the American Heart Association science,
- The agency is recognized by the American Heart Association, based on professional evaluation criteria designed by heart failure and home care experts, and
- Care is coordinated from pre-admission through working with the home health agency to discharge.
About PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, Wash., is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a group practice with more than 1,200 providers and 10 medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. The Sisters shared expertise and transferred wisdom from one medical center to another, always finding the best way to serve the unmet need for healthcare in their communities. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of the founding Sisters and continues with a spirit of respect, stewardship, collaboration and social justice in fulfilling its Mission. Visit us online at peacehealth.org.
