Trident Medical Center receives award from American Heart Association

The American Heart Association has awarded Trident Medical Center with the Mission: Lifeline Bronze Receiving Quality Achievement Award, for the implementation of specific quality improvement measures outlined by the Association,

for patients who have suffered heart attacks.

“Trident Medical Center is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that goal through internationally respected clinical guidelines,” said Allison Walters, AVP of Cardiovascular Services at Trident Help. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team.”

In the United States, 300,000 people have a STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infraction) caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart, each year. To prevent patient death, it is 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 helps medical facilities and communities improve response time for people who suffer from a STEMI get immediate and appropriate treatment. The program’s goal is to streamline systems of care to quickly get heart attack patients from the first 9-1-1 call to hospital treatment.

“We commend Trident for this achievement award, which reflects a significant institutional commitment to improve the quality of care for their heart attack patients,” said A. Gray Ellrodt, MD, chair of the Mission: Lifeline committee and chief of medicine at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass. “All too many heart attack patients in the United States still fail to receive appropriate treatment for their life-threatening condition within the recommended time frames. We must all continue this important work to streamline and coordinate regional systems to care to save lives and prevent complications.”

Trident Medical Center was honored with the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients to open the blocked artery. Before a patient is discharged, they are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies, such as, cholesterol=lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers.

If needed, the patient will receive smoking cessation counseling. Hospitals eligible for this award must adhere to these measures at a set level for designated period to receive the award.