Southeast Hospital Nationally Recognized for Heart Attack Care
Southeast Hospital has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center Gold Plus recognition and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Regional STEMI achievement award. A STEMI is a heart attack that is known to be more severe and dangerous than other types of heart attack.
Each year, more than 250,000 people experience a STEMI, caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery. To prevent death, it is critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible by either mechanically opening the blocked vessel or using a clot-busting medication.
Mission: Lifeline is a national, community-based initiative to advance the system of care for patients with high-risk, time-sensitive disease states, such as severe heart attacks. The program focuses on streamlining processes to speed the delivery of proper treatment, starting from when 911 is called, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. These awards are earned by healthcare facilities that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date research-based guidelines as outlined by the American Heart Association.
Since introducing open heart surgery to the region in 1984, SoutheastHEALTH has been committed to providing comprehensive, evidenced-based care for heart attack patients, said SoutheastHEALTH President and CEO Ken Bateman. “We are dedicated to constantly improving the quality of heart care. The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps us achieve that goal by putting proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis so patients have the best chance of survival.”
The organizations receiving the Mission: Lifeline receiving center and regional awards are pioneers in STEMI systems of care implementation and “are leading the way in care coordination, use of evidence-based care guidelines and are coming together to assure a high-quality STEMI system of care,” said James G. Jollis, MD, American Heart Association chair for the Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease Systems of Care Advisory Work Group and professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.