Hospital receives Mission: Lifeline achievement award
August 10, 2015
Award recognizes quality measures for treatment of severe heart attacks
The Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC) has received the Mission: Lifeline® Silver Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association (AHA) for treatment of patients who suffer the severe heart attack known as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attacks.
In addition to this award, HOCC has also been recognized as a recipient of Mission: Lifeline’s Silver-Plus award, which recognizes that the hospital has reached an achievement score of 75 percent or greater for treating STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) transfer patients within 120 minutes.
Each year in the United States, about 250,000 people have a STEMI, caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication. The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call and continuing through hospital treatment.
“We are very pleased to have been honored with a Mission: Lifeline award that recognizes our quality improvement measures toward treating STEMI heart attacks,” says Dr. Justin Lundbye, FACC, chief of Cardiology at HOCC.
HOCC follows AHA guidelines for STEMI heart attack patients, who require immediate treatment through clot-busting medication or an angioplasty procedure to clear blood flow blockage to the heart. AHA’s criteria and performance standards for STEMI patients include aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, as well as smoking cessation counseling, if needed. HOCC’s designation as a STEMI receiving hospital by the State of Connecticut means patients have a 90 minutes or less Door to balloon (D2B) time. HOCC’s mean D2B time is 59 minutes.
The Hospital of Central Connecticut earned the Plus award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients by providing emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries when needed. Eligible hospitals must adhere to these measures at a set level for a designated period to receive the awards.
Last year HOCC received the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® Bronze Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing quality improvement measures to treat STEMI heart attacks.
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 Foundation clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.
The Hospital of Central Connecticut (HOCC) is a 414-bed, 32-bassinet acute care teaching hospital with two campuses, New Britain General and Bradley Memorial in Southington. A member of Hartford HealthCare, HOCC services include emergency, inpatient, surgery, laboratory, outpatient, and radiology. Among specialty areas are cardiovascular care, metabolic health, obstetrics, oncology, orthopedics, and psychiatry/behavioral health. For more information, please visit www.thocc.org; for a physician referral, call 1-800-321-6244.