HaysMed Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients for Third Consecutive Year

Hays, KS - HaysMed has received the American College of Cardiology's NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2021. HaysMed is one of only 212 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes HaysMed's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that HaysMed 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 Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, HaysMed has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020), and performed at the highest level 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.

'As a Platinum Performance Award recipient, HaysMed has established itself as a leader in setting the national standard for improving quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction,' said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain - MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. 'By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, HaysMed has demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.'

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that almost 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.

'Our staff is dedicated to providing the highest level of cardiac care for patients in Western Kansas.' Said Eddie Herrman, President and CEO. 'The Debakey Heart Institute was founded over 20 years ago for the purpose of giving people in the area access to life saving cardiac care. Time is of the essence in treating heart attacks and having cardiac care available close to home has a direct effect on saving lives.'

Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry 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.