Sanford Bemidji Medical Center named among nation's top performing hospitals for treatment of heart attack patients

BEMIDJI, Minn. – Sanford Bemidji Medical Center recently received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2021. Sanford Bemidji Medical Center is one of only 212 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes Sanford Bemidji Medical Center's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the 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 and recommendations.

To receive the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020), and performed at the highest level 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, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center has established itself as a leader in setting the national standard for improving quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, Sanford Bemidji Medical Center has demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that almost 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.

“We are immensely honored with receiving the platinum award,” shared Susan Jarvis, president and CEO for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota. “This recognition is a direct reflection of the outstanding work of our cardiovascular and Bemidji Medical Center teams all coming together to improve heart care for our region and local community,”

Chest Pain ̶ MI 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.