NewYork-Presbyterian Queens has received the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is the only hospital in Queens to receive this distinction. This marks the second year in a row that the hospital has received this gold level award.
Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.
The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. The initiative provides tools, training, and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines.
NewYork-Presbyterian Queens earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.
“NewYork-Presbyterian Queens is dedicated to providing optimal care for heart attack patients,” said David Slotwiner, chief of the Division of Cardiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and an assistant professor of clinical medicine and of clinical healthcare policy and research at Weill Cornell Medicine. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care through Mission: Lifeline.”