Nash UNC Health Care Earns Six National Heart & Stroke Awards
Nash UNC Health Care has received recognition from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association with six awards for industry-leading performance in heart and stroke care.
“Across the world, healthcare has been challenged tremendously over the past two years with the pandemic,” said Dr. L. Lee Isley, president and CEO of Nash UNC Health Care. “As a leader of this hospital and a fellow community member, I’m incredibly proud that our Heart Center and Stroke Program has continued to improve and lead the industry in the services we provide to our patients.”
The awards include the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline for both Gold STEMI Receiving and Gold NSTEMI, as well as "Get With the Guidelines” - Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, which includes two additional recognitions, Target: Stroke Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll.
The Nash Heart Center has also received the American College of Cardiology’s Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2021, and is one of only 212 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
To earn these awards, Nash UNC Health Care had to meet specific and rigorous criteria and performance standards that aim to increase the quality and timeliness of care for heart attack and stroke patients.
Dr. Michael Yeung, an interventional cardiologist with UNC Cardiology at Nash, and the Medical Director for the Nash Heart Center, explains, “We are thrilled to continue receiving the highest award for STEMI and NSTEMI care for the fifth year in a row, confirming that we continue to provide consistent, efficient and high quality healthcare for this community. I am very proud of the dedication of our Nash team, and for that of our partners in EMS, who help make this level of care possible.”
According to the American Heart Association, the Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge.
Michael Aquino, stroke program coordinator at Nash UNC Health Care, said the stroke program has also grown and maintained its excellence in care.
“For the past four years, the stroke program at Nash UNC has received the "Get With The Guidelines-Stroke" Gold Plus Quality and Target: Stroke Honor Roll Achievement Award,” said Aquino.
Aquino continued, “The program has also received the Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll, recognizing the different standards of care for those with diabetes and how our hospital can effectively treat those patients.”
To qualify for this recognition, Nash UNC had to meet specific quality measures for 12 consecutive months based on the “Overall Diabetes Cardiovascular Initiative Composite Score”, developed by the ASA.
"For the stroke program to maintain these awards through the years, we’ve shown that our program is both successful and sustainable. We strive to make sure every patient receives the best stroke care possible the moment they enter our facility," said Aquino.
