The skilled nursing facility certification programs elevate care, prioritizing improved patient outcomes and ensuring a smooth transition from facility to community.
Our programs establish a framework for evaluating facilities based on the American Heart Association’s scientific guidelines for heart failure or stroke care. It validates adherence to our standards, emphasizing program management, patient education, care coordination and clinical management.
See Who Stands Out Among Skilled Nursing Facilities!
Download our current map of facilities working to improve care and outcomes for patients across the country. These certified sites meet the AHA key standards and a rigorous review process.
Patients Come First
Our specialty certification programs are focused on one simple goal...to recognize organizations that make the patient care experience better.
Benefits For Patients
- Access to centers focused on treating stroke and heart failure and their co- morbidities.
- Confidence that the centers can provide the most effective treatment strategies.
- Assurance that the center has been vetted and is recognized by the American Heart Association, based on professional evaluation criteria designed by experts.
Benefits For Referring Hospitals
- Improved readmission rates due to unnecessary readmissions and possible savings.
- Enhanced continuum of care for the patient through improved care coordination and communication between the Hospital and Facility.
- Opportunity to demonstrate quality of care through patient outcomes.
- Confidence of certification built on the Association's science and guidelines.
Benefits For Certified Facilities and Those In-Process
- Validation of a level of expertise that only the American Heart Association can offer.
- Possibility of more patient referrals, professional recognition and improved reimbursement pathways.
- Access to a national collaborating network sharing best practices and support.
- Direct access to AHA-sponsored live and online educational activities. New! The Development of a Heart Failure Program in a Skilled Nursing Facility(link opens in new window)
- Consultative services from AHA staff throughout the entire certification process
*Added benefits at no cost to facilities