INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – Franciscan Health Indianapolis has received the American College of Cardiology's NCDR Chest Pain - MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2019. It is one of only 30 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes the hospital's commitment and success in implementing a higher level of care for heart attack patients and signifies Franciscan Health Indianapolis has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients following care standards outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
"We have been leaders in central Indiana in providing fast, effective and life-saving care to patients showing symptoms of a heart attack," said Terri Ruff, vice president of operations for the Franciscan Health Central Indiana division. "We're proud of our team of cardiologists, emergency room physicians and support staff and their dedication to improve our processes and patient outcomes."
To receive the award, the Indianapolis hospital demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain - MI Registry for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top level of standards for 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.
The Chest Pain - MI Registry empowers healthcare provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, evidence-based guidelines and helps to establish 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 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when the heart is deprived of oxygen from either a diseased coronary artery or a blood clot that forms inside the artery and partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle.
Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and continues after discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoke cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.
This Chest Pain recognition comes in the wake of Franciscan Health Indianapolis earning the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Get With The Guidelines ® Heart Failure Gold Plus with Honor Roll. The hospital was cited for its commitment to ensuring heart failure patients receive evidenced-based medicine and therapies within the heart failure guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence and research.
The hospital has been the recipient of numerous Get With Guidelines and other cardiovascular care-related awards and accreditations over the years. Franciscan Health Indianapolis has received AHA’s Heart Failure award each year since 2012 and the Honor Roll distinction the last two years.
By Joe Stuteville
Media Relations Manager - joe.stuteville@franciscanalliance.org
