Articles
FMC Awarded Mission: Lifeline Bronze Performance Achievement Award
LANCASTER, Ohio (September 17, 2012) – Fairfield Medical Center has been awarded the Mission: Lifeline Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award acknowledges FMC’s dedication to high-quality care for heart attack patients and improving the time in which these patients receive treatment.
Mission: Lifeline is a national program of the American Heart Association (AHA) designed to help hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for a certain type of heart attack called an ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement AHA/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines.
Hospitals that receive the bronze award are recognized for evaluating patients within specific time frames upon entering the hospital and are discharged following the AHA recommended treatment guidelines. FMC’s overall composite score was 99.2 percent. This is an above average score compared to the state at 96.2 percent and the nation at 94.9 percent. When being evaluated by Mission: Lifeline, FMC was evaluated at 100 percent in mostly all areas, including aspirin at arrival, adult smoking cessation advice, aspirin and beta blocker (blood pressure medication) at discharge and reperfusion therapy, to name a few.
From left, Howard Sniderman, chief operating officer; Mark Sedor, Emergency Department manager; Dr. Jeremy Buckley, interventional cardiologist; Pam Reed, Outpatient Services director; Rhonda Wells, Chest Pain Center coordinator; Bob Williams, Cath Lab supervisor; Lory Winland, Ohio Mission: Lifeline director; Dr. Charles Pruitt, Emergency Department physician; and Mina Ubbing, president and CEO.
According to the AHA, every year almost 250,000 people experience a STEMI. Unfortunately, a significant number of people do not receive prompt reperfusion therapy in the United States, which is critical in restoring blood flow. FMC has exceeded these time frames in partnership with our local emergency service providers, improving heart attack care in our community.
“This is a great milestone for our program and illustrates the dedication our staff has to their patients,” said Howard Sniderman, FMC chief operating officer. “This recognition demonstrates our commitment to quality care and we are proud to be a part of the American Heart Association’s efforts to save lives.”
FMC was one of 226 hospitals in the nation and one of 18 hospitals in Ohio to receive the Mission: Lifeline award. For this award, FMC was recognized in the August issue of U.S. News & World Report and is also listed on the Mission: Lifeline, American Heart Association home page at heart.org.
The American Heart Association hopes to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent and also reduce deaths caused by cardiovascular disease or stroke by 20 percent by 2020.
“During the last decade with the support and contribution of hospital systems like Fairfield Medical Center, the American Heart Association has been able to reduce coronary heart disease death by 30 percent,” said Lory Winland, director for Ohio Mission: Lifeline.
For more information regarding the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline program, visit heart.org/missionlifeline or heart.org/quality.
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Donna Stalter
Fairfield Medical Center
Public Relations Specialist
(740) 687-8108
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