SPRINGFIELD, IL – St. John’s Prairie Heart Institute recently received the American Heart
Association’s Mission: Lifeline Gold Performance Achievement Award for the fourth
straight year. The award recognizes St. John’s commitment and success in implementing a
higher standard of care for heart attack patients that effectively improves the survival and
care of STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) patients. St. John’s is the only hospital
south of I80 to receive the gold award, and one of two hospitals in Illinois to be recognized.
Every year, almost 250,000 people experience the STEMI type of heart attack – the
deadliest type. Unfortunately, a significant number don’t receive prompt reperfusion
therapy, which is critical in restoring blood flow. Mission: Lifeline seeks to save lives by
closing the gaps that separate STEMI patients from timely access to appropriate
treatments. Mission: Lifeline is focusing on improving the system of care for these patients
and at the same time improving care for all heart attack patients.
Hospitals involved in Mission: Lifeline strive to improve care in both acute treatment
measures and discharge measures. Systems of care are developed that close the gap of
timely access to appropriate, life-saving treatments. Before they are discharged, patients
are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs,
aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation
counseling.
To earn the Mission: Lifeline Gold Performance Achievement Award, hospitals must
demonstrate for 24 consecutive months that at least 85 percent of eligible STEMI patients
(without contraindications) are treated within specific time frames upon entering the
hospital and discharged following the American Heart Association’s recommended
treatment guidelines.
“St. John’s Hospital is dedicated to making Prairie Heart Institute among the best cardiac
care units in the country, and the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program
is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the
outcomes of our cardiac patients,” said Charles L. Lucore, M.D., M.B.A., President and CEO
of St. John’s Hospital. “We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and
achievements in cardiac care.”
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