By Helena Tavares Kennedy
Sentara Heart and Vascular Center at Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2018. Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is one of only 203 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes the Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Sentara Heart and Vascular Center has 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 ACTION Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center has demonstrated sustained achievement in the ACTION Registry for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top level of standards 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.
“As a Platinum Performance Award recipient, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center has shown it is a leader in implementing standards of care and protocols for its patients,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, Chair, ACTION Registry; Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart and Vascular Center; and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. “By meeting the requirements set forth in the registry and establishing a culture of providing guideline recommended therapy, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is saving lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients.”
The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 700,000 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.
“The Cardiac Catheterization lab achievements in the ACTION Registry is an attestation of all hard work poured into the endeavors of the EMS, Emergency Department and Cardiovascular service line. The efforts of all of our health care team cannot be overstated in providing state-of-the-art, lifesaving procedures to the most common and lethal disease of our century. We praise and support all the staff who devoted their time and hearts to raise the level of care in our beloved community,” said Dr. Khalid Abousy, Medical Director of the Interventional Cardiology at Sentara Heart and Vascular Center in Woodbridge, Virginia.
ACTION 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.
Sentara is a progressive and integrated healthcare organization with various locations in Prince William County. They are dedicated to providing leading medical experts, advanced technology and continuous innovation to improve health every day. To find a doctor, call 1-800-Sentara or visit sentara.com.
Helena Tavares Kennedy (hkennedy@princewilliamliving.com) is a Contributing Writer for Prince William Living.
