Home » Central Baptist Hospital first in U.S. to receive AHA Accreditation for Acute Cardiac Care

Central Baptist Hospital first in U.S. to receive AHA Accreditation for Acute Cardiac Care

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 22, 2012) – Central Baptist Hospital is the first healthcare facility in the United States to receive the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Receiving Center Accreditation.
The accreditation program — sponsored by the American Heart Association and the Society of Chest Pain Centers —recognizes centers that meet or exceed quality of care measures for people experiencing the most severe type of heart attack, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), in which blood flow is completely blocked to a portion of the heart.

Central Baptist Hospital underwent numerous on-site reviews by accreditation specialists from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Key areas in which Central Baptist demonstrated exceptional quality of care to receive accreditation include:

*   Activation of the heart attack team as soon as Emergency Medical Services determines a patient may be having a heart attack
*   Immediate transport of heart attack patients to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab to open the blocked artery or arteries causing the heart attack
*   Opening of a blocked artery as fast as the top 10 percent of hospitals participating in the American College of Cardiology Cath/PCI registry

Through its accreditation program, the American Heart Association hopes to significantly reduce cardiac death by teaching the public to recognize and react to early symptoms of a heart attack, reduce the time it takes to receive lifesaving treatment and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment administered.

The American Heart Association’s overall goal for Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Receiving Center Accreditation is to significantly reduce cardiac death in patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to early symptoms of a heart attack, reduce the time it takes to receive life-saving treatment and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment administered.