Kentucky Adult Congenital Heart Program earns Adult Congenital Heart Association accreditation
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 7, 2025) — In recognition of its expertise in serving adults with congenital heart disease (CHD), structural heart conditions present at birth, UK HealthCare’s Kentucky Adult Congenital Heart Program (KACH) earned accreditation in December 2024 from the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA), a nationwide organization committed to increasing access to the highest level of care for adult CHD patients, along with developing standards to allow patients and families to identify physicians and facilities providing that care and meeting those high standards.
Individuals with CHD, the most common birth defect diagnosed in one in 100 births, are living longer. There are nearly 2 million adults in the United States living with one of many different types of congenital heart defects, ranging from simple to complex.
“The ACHA Accreditation is exciting for our program,” said Andrew Leventhal, M.D., medical director of the KACH. “The accreditation recognizes that our program meets the standards to provide comprehensive care for adult congenital heart patients. It is important that both our patients and referring doctors have confidence in the care we provide.”
UK HealthCare’s Gill Heart & Vascular Institute launched the Kentucky Adult Congenital Heart Program in 2016 to help Kentuckians with CHD manage their condition throughout adulthood. The multidisciplinary team is trained to understand the unique, changing needs of adults living with CHD.
The KACH program received accreditation by meeting ACHA’s criteria by establishing patient care guidelines throughout the hospital to ensure that evidence-based practice would be used to provide care to this patient population and demonstrating that all aspects of care can be performed within UK's facility, including surgery, minimally invasive high-level catheterization lab procedures, heart transplant and even psychiatric care for the higher levels of anxiety and depression these patients exhibit. The goal is to ensure that all aspects of care a CHD patient would need can be provided within the facility, keeping their care close to home.
“There are now more adults than children in the U.S. with CHD,” said Mark Roeder, President and CEO of ACHA. “Accreditation will elevate the standard of care and have a positive impact on the futures of those living with this disease. Coordination of care is key, and this accreditation program will make care more streamlined for ACHD patients, improving their quality of life.”
There are now 55 ACHA ACHD Accredited programs throughout the United States.
About the Adult Congenital Heart Association
The Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA) is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life and extending the lives of adults with congenital heart disease (CHD). ACHA serves and supports the nearly 2 million adults with CHD, their families and the medical community — working with them to address the unmet needs of the long-term survivors of congenital heart defects through education, outreach, advocacy and promotion of ACHD research. For more information about ACHA, contact 888-921-ACHA or visit www.ACHAHeart.org.
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