Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center honored with Mission: Lifeline achievement award for second year

ALBUQUERQUE, JUNE 10, 2016 — Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center has received the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific high quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. This is the second year in a row the Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center has been recognized with this award. 
 
Each year in the United States, approximately 250,000 people have a STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, 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. 
 
“The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program has set stringent guidelines for hospitals to meet regarding cardiac care, and we are proud to have met these goals and beyond over the years,” said Lovelace Medical Center CEO Troy Greer. “Our team has consistently delivered care that is above and beyond expectations for heart attack patients in our state. It is an honor to continue to be recognized on a national level for this exceptional level of care.” 
 
Mission: Lifeline’s Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award recognizes the hospital’s success in various areas of heart attack patient care. For the Gold measure the hospital either met or exceeded the needed 85 percent cumulative composite score for all of the eight quality achievement measures set forth by the American Heart Association. An additional independent measure that awards hospitals the Plus recognition ensures a composite score of 75 percent or better for heart attack victims being transferred from another facility. This means that from the time that the heart attack victim presented at the referring facility until the time that the artery was re-opened at the Heart Hospital the metric was met in 120 minutes or fewer at least 75 percent of the time.  
 
In addition to this award, the Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center has been recognized with the American Heart Association’s Heart Attack Receiving Center Accreditation, the Action Registry GWTG Platinum Performance achievement award, and the Chest Pain Center with PCI Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. As of June 2015, Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center was the only hospital in New Mexico to receive all four recognitions for their care with heart attack patients.
 
“We commend Heart Hospital of New Mexico at Lovelace Medical Center for this achievement award, which reflects a significant institutional commitment to the highest quality of care for their heart attack patients,” said James G. Jollis, MD, Chair of the Mission: Lifeline Advisory Working Group. “Achieving this award means the hospital has met specific reporting and achievement measures for the treatment of their patients who suffer heart attacks and we applaud them for their commitment to quality and timely care.” 
 
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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 Foundation clinical treatment guidelines. For more information, visit heart.org/.
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