VCU Medical Center receives chest pain award

Among top performing hospitals for treatment of heart attack patients

VCU Medical Center has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2020. VCU Medical Center is one of only 132 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes VCU Medical Center’s commitment and success in implementing and achieving a sustained higher standard of care for heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI) patients and signifies that VCU Medical 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, recommendations and performance measures. 

“VCU Medical Center’s participation in the Chest Pain – MI Registry assures our organization is engaged in a robust quality improvement process, using data to drive improvements that positively impact outcomes for heart attack patients,” said Michelle Gossip, MSN, RN, CCRN, cardiology program manager at Pauley Heart Center.

To receive the Chest Pain – MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award, VCU Medical Center demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain – MI Registry for four consecutive quarters during 2020 and performed with distinction in 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.

“This award is a culmination of hard work by our multidisciplinary teams,” Gossip said. “The honor exemplifies teamwork and attention to clinical detail from our EMS partnerships, Emergency Department and cardiology teams. Additionally, this work is supported by our One Call Center, Pathology, Performance Improvement Department and Cardiac Rehabilitative Services.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. The Chest Pain – MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease. VCU Medical Center previously received the Platinum Award (highest honor) in 2019 and the Silver Award in 2018.