More than 6 million Americans are living with heart failure and the prevalence of this cardiovascular disease is projected to increase by 46% from 2012 to 2030.[1] To meet this increasing need for care, the American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all, is launching the Home Health Heart Failure Certification Program which provides a framework to evaluate home health agencies against the American Heart Association science and guidelines for heart failure patients.
The certification is focused on the American Heart Association's science-based standards including program management, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, and clinical management.
The certification provides 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.
"This certification program seeks to work with home health agencies to help guide them toward quality improvement efforts for their heart failure patients," said Kyle G. Lavergne, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, American Heart Association volunteer and director of clinical programs of the LHC Group and founding member of the certification standards writing committee. "Announcing the launch of this exciting and much needed new certification amplifies the mission of the American Heart Association to help every person have the opportunity for a longer, healthier life."
Any home health agency that treats heart failure and is licensed in the U.S. can apply for certification. An eligible agency must demonstrate a heart failure program that uses a standardized method of delivering services based on current science-based American Heart Association guidelines. An agency must also provide quality improvement measuring adherence to science-based guidelines aimed at improving care and outcomes for heart failure patients in the home setting.
If your agency is interested in Home Health Heart Failure Certification, please visit heart.org/home-health-heart-failure.
