Earning the American College of Cardiology’s most important accolade is twice as nice for Lutheran Hospital in 2019. That’s because this is the second year in a row it has been awarded the ACC HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence.
Lutheran joined elite company in 2018 when it became one of only seven hospitals in the country to reach HeartCARE Center status. During its second review, Lutheran again demonstrated its commitment to comprehensive, high-quality culture and cardiovascular care. This achievement is based on a hospital’s ability to meet specific accreditation criteria, and through its ongoing performance registry reporting.
“Lutheran is now one of just a few repeat recipients across the U.S.,” said cardiologist Scott Mattson, DO, FACC, FASE. “This demonstrates the cardiovascular service line’s dedication to providing objectively high standards of care and a commitment to quality improvement.”
Hospitals and health systems that have received an ACC HeartCARE Center designation have met a set of requirements including at least two earned CV accreditations offered by the ACC, a third earned CV accreditation offered by the ACC or participation in a National Cardiovascular Data Registry, and involvement in additional efforts designed to help hospitals and institutions close gaps in guideline-based care.
As part of its 2019 attestation, Lutheran’s list of accreditations through the ACC included: Chest Pain Center – Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Resuscitation; Cardiac Catheterization Lab with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention; Heart Failure; and Atrial Fibrillation with Electrophysiology Services.
“In healthcare, many of the reviews we receive from outside organizations occur no more frequently than once every three years,” said Latesa Conley, RN, accreditation manager, Lutheran Hospital. “It’s very important to our team to have a respected body like the American College of Cardiology not only evaluate annually how we’re doing in multiple quality improvement programs, but also verify in consecutive years that the comprehensive heart care we’re providing is of the highest quality. Collectively, the entire Lutheran family is demonstrating that its focus on patients in need of these specialized services remains strong and consistent.”
According to the ACC, hospitals receiving its HeartCARE Center designation have exhibited their commitment to reliable, high-quality cardiovascular care through comprehensive process improvement, disease and procedure-specific accreditation, professional excellence, and community engagement. Based on its assessment, the ACC believes Lutheran has proven to be a forward-thinking institution with goals to advance the cause of sustainable quality improvement.
The ACC offers U.S. and international hospitals like Lutheran access to a comprehensive suite of cardiac accreditation services designed to optimize patient outcomes and improve hospital financial performance. These services are focused on all aspects of cardiac care.
