St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital One of Only 36 in Nation to Receive Get with the Guidelines-Gold Performance Achievement Award for Care of Heart Attack Patients

(Bryan, TX) ― St. Joseph Health Regional Hospital received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry - Get With The Guidelines Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2016. St. Joseph Health was one of only 36 hospitals nationwide to receive this honor. This recognizes a commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients treated at St. Joseph Health. It also signifies that St. Joseph Health offers patients the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, clinical guidelines and recommendations established by the latest scientific evidence.

To receive this accolade, St. Joseph Health met quality measures of 90 percent or higher when treating heart attack patients over the past two years. 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 St. Joseph Health. It reflects the hard work and dedication of our physicians, nurses and clinical staff who care for some of our most critically ill patients and their families,” said Ricardo Diaz, Chief Operations Officer for St. Joseph Health. “The implementation of these treatment guidelines requires successful coordination among the cardiovascular team and emergency department and is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients.”

        In addition to this award, St. Joseph Health is also recognized as Accredited Chest Pain Center V5 with Primary PCI and Resuscitation, meaning the hospital offers a comprehensive program for the rapid diagnosis and treatment of heart attacks and cardiac conditions for patients who come into either our Regional Hospital or South College Station Emergency departments. This is a new, higher accreditation for St. Joseph Health for 2016.

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About St. Joseph Health

Established in 1936, St. Joseph Health is a faith-based, not-for-profit health system committed to excellence and compassion in caring for the mind, body and spirit while creating healthier communities. St. Joseph Health is comprised of five hospital facilities across the Brazos Valley, including Regional Hospital, the region’s highest level trauma center. St. Joseph Medical Group operates more than a dozen primary and specialty care clinics around the region, offering expert care, closer to home. St. Joseph Health is a part of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), one of the nation’s largest health systems. For more information, visit CHIStjoseph.org.

Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, CHI operates in 19 states and comprises more than 103 hospitals, including four academic medical centers and teaching hospitals; 30 critical-access facilities; community health services organizations; accredited nursing colleges; home health agencies; and other services that span the inpatient and outpatient continuum of care. For more information, visit CatholicHealthInitiatives.org.

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.