Pennington, New Jersey – Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2024. As of June 2024, Capital Health was one of only 61 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor, which recognizes commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients. The award also means that the Chest Pain Center at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to the high standards outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
“It takes a concerted effort to meet the ACC’s rigorous standards for heart attack care, and this award was only possible thanks to the hard work of Medical Director Dr. Lara Samson and her team at our Chest Pain Center,” said Dr. Mark Arcaro, vice president of Clinical Performance at Capital Health. “As part of the ACC registry, the doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals at the Chest Pain Center provide care backed by data from other leading programs across the country. Congratulations to Dr. Samson and her team for this remarkable achievement, which lets patients in our region know Capital Health is nationally ranked in treating heart attack patients.”
To receive the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award, Capital Health has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and performed at the top level for specific performance measures. Full participation in 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 Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell with the Gold Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “The receipt of this award indicates that Capital 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. 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.
If you think you or someone you know is having a heart attack, calling 911 should be your first step to talk with a trained dispatcher and have an ambulance sent to your location as quickly as possible. Treatment can begin on site when the ambulance arrives and may include medication and EKG testing. If on-site testing determines that a heart attack is occurring, Capital Health’s pre-hospital alert system immediately mobilizes specialized medical teams in the Emergency Department and Cardiac Catheterization Lab at Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell to perform additional testing or an emergency procedure as needed when the patient arrives.
To learn more about Capital Health’s Chest Pain Center, visit capitalchestpain.org.
Call 911 immediately if you or someone you know is experiencing the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
About Capital Health
Capital Health is the Central New Jersey/Lower Bucks County region’s leader in providing progressive, quality patient care with significant investments in physicians, nurses and staff, as well as advanced technology. Comprised of two state-of-the-art hospitals (Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton and Capital Health Medical Center – Hopewell), outpatient facilities in Bordentown and Hamilton, New Jersey, satellite emergency departments in Trenton and on the campus of Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, New Jersey, and an extensive network of primary and specialty care practices across the region, Capital Health is a dynamic health care resource accredited by DNV. To learn more, visit capitalhealth.org.
The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org.