THE BRONX – October 28, 2026 -- Holliswood Center and Bushwick Center, two skilled nursing facilities in the Centers Health Care network, have earned the American Heart Association's Skilled Nursing Facility Heart Failure Certification, aimed at cutting preventable readmissions in a patient population projected to exceed 8 million U.S. adults by 2030.
Certification audits six operating areas of heart failure care
The framework evaluates facilities against science-based requirements for heart failure (HF) patients. The six areas are program management, staff education, patient and caregiver education and support, care coordination, clinical management and quality improvement.
Moshe Blackstein, administrator at Amsterdam Nursing Home, another Centers Health Care facility, said the certification reflects a multidisciplinary team approach and tighter communication and coordination at every stage of care.
Readmission rates drive the commercial case for standardized HF programs
Nearly 1 in 4 HF patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge, and about half return within six months. About one quarter of those readmissions may be preventable. The certification is designed to help facilities target that preventable share through specialized HF care, resident and family education, and coordination across the continuum of care.
Cory Woods, volunteer chair of the AHA's Quality Certification Business Management Committee, said the program benefits both patients and facilities by standardizing care practices across every phase of care.
U.S. heart failure caseload is forecast to climb to 11 million by 2050
Nearly 6.7 million U.S. adults currently live with heart failure. The AHA projects that figure will pass 8 million by 2030 and 11 million by 2050. Roughly 1 in 4 people is expected to develop the condition during their lifetime.
Heart failure accounts for more than 1 million hospital discharges annually. It was mentioned on 452,573 U.S. death certificates in 2023.
Eligible facilities must be located in the U.S. or a U.S. territory and run an HF program that delivers clinical care through a standardized method based on current evidence-based guidelines.