You're Our Type
You are a warrior against two of the most pressing health issues of our time—type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The American Heart Association® (AHA) and American Diabetes Association® (ADA) are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you in the fight to save lives. After all, CVD is the leading cause of death and a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and disability for people living with type 2 diabetes. That knowledge fuels our commitment to provide you with the clinical tools and resources you need to help type 2 diabetes patients manage their risk for CVD.
An Urgent Mission, a Lifesaving Collaboration
To combat the public health impact of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, the AHA and ADA launched a collaborative landmark initiative—Know Diabetes by Heart™. Out of this brainchild, Target: Type 2 Diabetes℠ was born.
Today, Target: Type 2 Diabetes offers healthcare professionals with resources and tools that put evidence-based, lifesaving care for this special at-risk population into practice.
Across the nation, the innovative program is making a difference.
“When the Target: Type 2 Diabetes program rolled out, we had the opportunity to focus more on the subset of type 2 diabetes patients,” reveals Melody Halio, RN, BSN, SCRN, CCRN-K, a nurse navigator for the stroke and diabetes program at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, CA.
This new focus not only translates into better patient care, but improved quality performance, too.
“Each fallout within our stroke program, and now within our diabetes patients, is individually addressed with the physician,” Halio explains. “If there is a trend, we review areas for performance improvement. The Diabetes Treatment measure was new for our hospital, it forced us to work on getting patients on a new discharge routine with diabetic medication or have a date and time set for their scheduled discharge treatment.”
Recognizing Excellence in Patient Care
Just as the team at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Valencia is nurturing cohesive, comprehensive medical care for those grappling with the lethal diabetes-CVD combo, dedicated care providers at hospitals and outpatient facilities across the nation are putting the foundations of Target: Type 2 Diabetes to impressive use.
Now AHA is celebrating their exceptional efforts and achievements with the new Target: Type 2 Diabetes Annual Recognition Awards.
Recognized facilities are acknowledged in many ways: with certificates of achievement, listings on AHA national websites and in promotional materials and best practice showcases—along with resources provided for self-promotion.
Recognition for Hospitals
Hospitals now participating in Get with the Guidelines® (GWTG) - Stroke or Get With The Guidelines® - Heart Failure have access to expanded diabetes related registry elements and reporting. Hospitals that meet specific measure thresholds, may also be eligible for recognition in the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll along with their existing GWTG awards.
Target: Type 2 Diabetes is an additional level of recognition above and beyond the Achievement Awards that notes a hospital’s targeted approach to providing quality care for patients with type 2 diabetes. Hospitals can find out more about the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor program at the resources link.
Recognition for Outpatient Organizations
Outpatient recognition is based on the submission of organizational information and aggregate measure data gathered from the previous calendar year. All data must be entered into the data submission tool before the end of May each year. More information on award levels and the submission process can be found in this collection of downloadable recognition resources.
Outpatient organizations must register to be eligible. Registration is available year-round. Click for more outpatient resources to get started.
We’re in This Together
Target: Type 2 Diabetes participants receive timely communications about events, recognition and education. Most importantly, they are always in the know about the latest and most up-to-date science. AHA staff members are available for support throughout the quality improvement journey.
When You Join, You’re in Good Company!
More than 1,400 awards were bestowed on hospitals and outpatient organizations in 2020 (862 GWTG-Stroke; 468 Outpatient facilities; 72 GWTG-HF). Just as importantly, they’ve been able to connect with one another, learn how to better apply clinical guidelines, monitor care processes over time, and use all these insights to improve the lives of the patients with type 2 diabetes.
