Four Saint Luke’s Entities Named Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients

Kansas City - Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Saint Luke’s East Hospital, Saint Luke’s North Hospital, and Saint Luke’s South Hospital have received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2020. Only 140 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes Saint Luke’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Saint Luke’s 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, Saint Luke’s has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2018 and 2019), 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, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Saint Luke’s East Hospital, Saint Luke’s North Hospital and Saint Luke’s South Hospital have established themselves 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, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, they have demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.”

The Center 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.

“It is a great honor for Saint Luke’s to be recognized for our dedication and all-encompassing, high-quality care our physicians, nurses, and staff give our patients daily,” said Dr. Michael Main, Co-Executive-Medical Director of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute. “This award helps solidify Saint Luke’s role in providing the top heart and vascular care in Kansas City and the surrounding region.”

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.

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions.