WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has received the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2021. It is one of only 132 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the hospital has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the ACC/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
To receive the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award, the hospital has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for four consecutive quarters during 2020 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.
“As a Silver Performance Award recipient, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has established itself as a leader in setting the national standard for improving quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital has demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.”
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that almost 700,000 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.
“Wheeling Hospital is committed to providing our patients with the highest quality cardiac care based upon meeting current clinical guidelines and recommendations,” Douglass Harrison, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital President and CEO, said. “We are proud of our cardiac team for receiving this high honor of the Silver Performance Achievement Award.”
Tish Holden, WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital Chest Pain Center Coordinator and Mission Lifeline Regional Team Leader, said, “Achieving this award can be attributed to a team effort. We have a Regional Team that includes cardiologists, referral facilities, EMS, Emergency Department, Cardiac Cath Lab, hospital staff and cardiac rehab. These members make sure that our patients receive the appropriate care and in a timely manner.”
Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry empowers healthcare 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.