Award demonstrates Saint Francis Hospital’s commitment to quality care for heart attack patients.
Accepting our Mission Lifeline Award from the American Heart Association representative, Paula Feather (center), is Michelle Britton, Director of Cardiovascular Services (left) and Donna Rye (right) Cardiac Research Site Manager.
Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Bronze Receiving Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success in implementing a high standard of care for heart attack patients. It is the only hospital in the Memphis area to receive this recognition.
Each year in the United States, nearly 300,000 people have a STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, the most severe form of heart attack. A STEMI occurs when a blood clot completely blocks an artery to the heart. To prevent death, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication.
Hospitals involved in Mission: Lifeline are part of a system that makes sure STEMI patients get the right care they need, as quickly as possible. Mission: Lifeline focuses on improving the system of care for these patients and at the same time improving care for all heart attack patients.
As a “STEMI Receiving Hospital,” Saint Francis Hospital meets high standards of performance in quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients to open the blocked artery. Before they are discharged, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers and they receive smoking cessation counseling if needed. Hospitals must adhere to these guidelines-based measures at a set level for a designated period of time to be eligible for the achievement awards.
“Saint Francis is dedicated to making our Heart & Vascular Center 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 Dave Archer, CEO. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team.”
Saint Francis Hospital-Memphis is a 519-bed full service hospital located at 5959 Park Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. The hospital has been recognized for excellence of care by United Healthcare, CIGNA, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and Aetna. In 2011, the American Heart Association presented the Gold Performance Achievement Award to Saint Francis for Heart Failure and Cardiovascular Disease in their “Get With The Guidelines” program. Offering a wide array of medical services, Saint Francis is noted for its many Centers of Excellence, including its Center for Surgical Weight Loss, Sleep Center, Chest Pain Emergency Center, Heart & Vascular Center, Surgical Services, Diabetes Center, and Women’s Center.
Saint Francis Hospital serves as an academic training site for University of Tennessee Surgical, Family Practice, and Psychiatric Residents. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about Saint Francis Hospital, visit www.SaintFrancisHosp.com.
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.