Aug. 10, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Sanford Health.

Sanford Health has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2022.

Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls is one of only 240 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor. Also honored were Sanford hospitals in Bemidji, Minnesota; and Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota.

The award recognizes Sanford Health’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Sanford Health 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, Sanford Health demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry for two consecutive years — 2020 and 2021 — 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.

“When it comes to treating heart attacks, every second counts,” said Nate Blessen, system executive director of cardiovascular services. “We take pride in putting the latest technology in the hands of top cardiology experts at Sanford Health, and this recognition confirms our continued investment in producing exceptional care.”

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.

“It is an honor to award Sanford Health with the Platinum Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Dr. Michael C. Kontos, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee and a cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.

“The receipt of this award indicates that Sanford Health remains committed to providing top-quality, guideline-driven care for heart attack patients. Their success ensures patients are receiving the highest quality cardiovascular care.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year.