The American Heart Association has awarded The Villages® Regional Hospital (TVRH) for quality improvement measures and timely care in patients experiencing a heart attack. TVRH has received the 2017 Mission: Lifeline® Silver Receiving Quality Achievement Award.

The goal of the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline program is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call and continuing through hospital treatment. Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it's critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

A Silver Receiving Center award recognizes hospitals for achieving an 85 percent or greater overall composite score for all Mission: Lifeline STEMI quality achievement indicators, with no measure below 75 percent for consecutive 12-month intervals.

Other measures met to achieve a receiving center award include: heart attack patients received aspirin within 24 hours of hospital arrival, doctors prescribed aspirin and a beta blocker at the patient's discharge and patients who smoked received smoking cessation counseling by discharge.

"The Villages® Regional Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack, and the Mission: Lifeline program is helping us accomplish that goal through nationally respected clinical guidelines," said Addy Ramos-Krebs, Director of Invasive and Non-Invasive Cardiology Services at TVRH. "We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care, and I am very proud of our team."