Myrtle Beach, SC (PRESS RELEASE) – Grand Strand Medical Center has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2015. Grand Strand Medical Center is one of only 78 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes Grand Strand Medical Center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Grand Strand Medical Center has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
To receive the ACTION Registry–GWTG Gold Performance Achievement Award, Grand Strand Medical Center consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the ACTION Registry–GWTG for eight consecutive quarters and met a performance standard of 90 percent for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.
“The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association commend Grand Strand Medical Center for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols. The full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guideline-recommended therapy is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients,” said James Jollis, MD, FACC, ACTION Registry-GWTG Chair and Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Duke University Hospital.
The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.
“This award is a proud achievement for Grand Strand Medical Center. It reflects the hard work and dedication of the staff who care for some of our most seriously ill patients and their families,” said Mark Sims, CEO of Grand Strand Health. “The implementation of these guidelines requires successful coordination of the cardiovascular team and emergency personnel and is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients.”
About Grand Strand Health: Grand Strand Health is a multi-facility health system located on the coast of the Grand Strand community. Grand Strand Health is comprised of one acute care hospital, Grand Strand Medical Center, and South Strand Medical Center, which provides 24/7 emergency services and outpatient medical services. Affiliated with Grand Strand are a number of physician practices that provide heart and vascular care, spine and neuro care, surgical care and primary and senior care. These quality-focused services work together to provide excellence in medical care to residents in our communities.
ACTION Registry–GWTG is a partnership between the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association with partnering support from the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. ACTION Registry-GWTG empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.The American College of Cardiology is a 49,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more information, visit ACC.org.
