a group of people posing for the camera

News & Media

Home » News & Media » Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients

Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients

Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center (EMRMC) has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2022. The Medical Center is one of only 85 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes EMRMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that EMRMC has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award, EMRMC has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶   MI Registry for four consecutive quarters during 2021 and performed with distinction in specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“It is an honor to award EMRMC with the Silver Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “The receipt of this award indicates thatEMRMC remains committed to providing top quality, guideline-driven care for heart attack patients. Their success ensures patients are receiving the highest quality cardiovascular care.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

“We are honored and proud to have received this award for the treatment of our heart attack patients,” says Dan McKay, President and CEO of Ephraim McDowell Health. “This award was possible because of a team effort with the cardiologists, mid-level providers, EMS, Emergency Department staff and physicians, Cardiac Cath Lab, Cardiovascular Unit, ICU, Laboratory, and referring facilities including Ephraim McDowell Fort Logan Hospital and Ephraim McDowell James B. Haggin Hospital.”

Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its more than 56,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular

accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org