Franciscan Health hospitals in Indianapolis and Lafayette have received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2023.
The two hospitals are among only 56 nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes Franciscan Health’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the Indianapolis and Lafayette East hospitals have 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 Gold Performance Achievement Award, both Franciscan Health Indianapolis and Franciscan Health Lafayette East 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 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.
“It is an honor to award Franciscan Health Indianapolis and Lafayette East 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 Franciscan 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.
Franciscan Health Indianapolis President and CEO Lori Price said the Gold Performance recognition adds to the accolades earned by the hospital’s cardiovascular program. Healthgrades named Franciscan Health Indianapolis top 5% in the nation for cardiology services (2023), Five-Star recipient for treatment of heart attack in 2023, Five-Star recipient for treatment of heart failure for three years in a row (2021-2023), recipient for the HealthGrades Vascular Surgery Excellence Award for four years in a row (2020-2023), top 5% in the nation for vascular surgery for four years in a row (2020-2023), Five-Star recipient for carotid procedures for four years in a row (2020-2023), and Five-Star recipient for peripheral vascular bypass for nine years in a row (2015-2023).
Franciscan Health Indianapolis was also recognized by CareChex as a top 100 hospital in the nation and first in the state in interventional coronary care. The program also received the HeartFlow CT Quality Award for Excellence in Coronary CT Imaging and the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure Gold Plus award for proven dedication to ensuring all heart failure patients have access to best practices and life-saving care.
“These recognitions validate the hard work of our cardiology team, and most importantly, recognize the improved outcomes for our heart patients, which is our first priority and the reason we strive for continual improvement,” Price said.
Franciscan Health Western Indiana President and CEO Terry Wilson said, “The American College of Cardiology’s recognition confirms the highest-quality care delivered to heart attack patients at Franciscan Health Lafayette East. This recognition for two consecutive years is a tribute to the sustained performance of our physicians, nurses and care team.”
Franciscan Health Lafayette East has also received additional awards for its cardiovascular care, including HealthGrades’ Five-Star recipient for treatment of heart attack in 2023 and the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Heart Failure Gold Plus award.
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.
