Friday, August 26, 2011
Media Contacts:
Tracy McCarty
Tracy.McCarty@hoag.org
949-764-8695
Priya Dua
Priya.Dua@porternovelli.com
323-762-2407
Newport Beach, Calif. – Aug. 26, 2011 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian recently qualified for the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the commitment and success of the Hoag Heart & Vascular Institute in its implementation of a higher standard of care for heart attack patients that effectively improves the survival and care of STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) patients.
Every year, almost 250,000 people experience the STEMI type of heart attack. Unfortunately, a significant number don't receive prompt reperfusion therapy, which is critical in restoring blood flow. Mission: Lifeline seeks to save lives by closing the gaps that separate STEMI patients from timely access to appropriate treatments. Mission: Lifeline is focusing on improving the system of care for these patients and at the same time improving care for all heart attack patients.
Hospitals involved in Mission: Lifeline strive to improve care in both acute treatment measures and discharge measures. Systems of care are developed that close the gap of timely access to appropriate, life-saving treatments. Before they are discharged, appropriate patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation counseling.
Hospitals that receive the Mission: Lifeline Bronze Performance Achievement Award have demonstrated for 90 consecutive days that at least 85 percent of eligible STEMI patients (without contraindications) are treated within specific time frames upon entering the hospital and discharged following the American Heart Association’s recommended treatment guidelines.
“The Hoag Heart & Vascular Institute is dedicated to making our cardiac unit among the best in the country, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the outcomes of our cardiac patients,” said Robert Tancredi, M.D., executive medical director at the institute. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care.”
About Hoag Heart & Vascular Institute
Hoag Heart & Vascular Institute is one of the preeminent cardiovascular centers on the West Coast and is well respected for delivering the highest level of quality care. Angioplasty and cardiac stent placement services are available 24/7 with median times for opening coronary arteries under 64 minutes, well above the national standard. Hoag is recognized as a leader in emergency heart care. Hoag Heart & Vascular Institute is a leader in cardiovascular medicine offering the most advanced and pioneering surgical techniques including minimally invasive heart surgery, intraoperative ablation for treatment of arrhythmia, beating heart surgery, and heart bypass with endoscopic vein harvesting. For more information visit www.hoag.org/heart.
About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian?
Hoag is a non-profit regional healthcare delivery network in Orange County, Calif. that treats nearly 30,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, seven health centers and three urgent care centers (with three more scheduled to open in Fall 2011). Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which has served Orange County since 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010, are designated Magnet hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that include five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate Hoag Orthopedic Institute. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County’s most preferred hospital for the past 15 consecutive years and for an unprecedented 15 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the county’s best hospital in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org.
About Mission: Lifeline
The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.
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