UNC Health Southeastern Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients
American College of Cardiology NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Award recognizes sustained, high level performance in quality of care
UNC Health Southeastern has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2022. The health system is one of only 81 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes UNC Health Southeastern’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the health system 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 Gold Performance Achievement Award, UNC Health Southeastern has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021), and performed at the top level 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.
“It is an honor to award UNC Health Southeastern with the Gold 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 that UNC Health Southeastern 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.
“I can still remember the work that was put in to developing the Cardiovascular Program at UNC Health Southeastern,” said Dr. Joe Roberts, UNC Health Southeastern Vice President and Chief Medical Officer. “This award helps to confirm that we made the right decision for our community. We are so proud of our Cardiovascular Team and look forward to continuing to provide these types of services for many years to come.”
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.
In 2021, UNC Health Southeastern was awarded the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award.
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.
