Cooley Dickinson Recognized for Heart-attack Treatment
NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) received the Mission: Lifeline Silver Referring Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality-improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Assoc. for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. Cooley Dickinson is one of only three referring centers in the U.S. that has received this award.
Each year in the U.S., approximately 250,000 people suffer 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.
Nationwide, hospitals within the top 10{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} transfer patients within 38 minutes, and the Massachusetts average is 55 minutes. Cooley Dickinson’s Emergency Department staff, in collaboration with its pre-hospital care partners (EMTs and paramedics), has consistently reduced that 38-minute transfer time. Since July 2012, the monthly transfer time to Baystate Medical Center, the closest hospital that offers angioplasty and on-call cardiac surgeons, ranges from 19 to 34 minutes.
“The credit for this award goes to the Emergency Department staff,” said Dr. R.F. Conway, medical director, Emergency Services, at Cooley Dickinson. “Each person makes it his or her priority to ensure STEMI patients have the best chance for survival.”
Added Dr. James Jollis, chair of the Mission: Lifeline Advisory Working Group and president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, “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.”
CDH earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for promptly diagnosing STEMI patients and transferring them to hospitals that provide 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 of time to receive the awards.
