Southside Hospital recognized by American Heart Association for heart attack care

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Southside Hospital is the first hospital on Long Island to be recognized for its high-quality care of people with severe heart attacks by the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Gold Award.

Southside Hospital earned the distinction by consistently getting patients suffering an ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction – a kind of heart attack – to the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab where blood flow can be restored. The national guideline for door-to-artery un-blockage time is 90 minutes, but Southside Hospital’s average time is 30 percent faster at 60 minutes.

Treatment done this quickly has been made possible in part through the hospital’s use of the LifeNet system, which allows first responders to securely send important health information to Southside Hospital’s cardiac team so they can be best prepared to help the incoming patient. This speed of care is also due to the strong partnership Southside Hospital has with its local first responders who give the hospital the information it needs to get the interventional cardiology team best prepared to care for the incoming patient.

Every 43 seconds, someone in the United States has a heart attack, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). When a patient has a heart attack, the blood flow to the heart is compromised; literally, time equals muscle. This just emphasizes the need for rapid treatment – which leads to better outcomes.“This award is a recognition of the commitment of Southside Hospital’s cardiac and emergency medicine teams and local emergency medical services crews to do everything they can to ensure patients get the urgent care they need as fast as possible,” said Donna Moravick, NP, executive director of Southside Hospital. “People who are having a heart attack and being taken to Southside Hospital should rest assured that this team is very well equipped to get them lifesaving care quickly.”

Southside Hospital previously received the Mission: Lifeline Bronze and Silver awards in 2015 and 2016 respectively. To reach gold status, the hospital needed to have eight consecutive quarters of meeting the Mission: Lifeline criteria, including the door-to-treatment time.

Southside Hospital is also in the process of expanding the number of cardiac catheterization labs and building a 17-bed recovery area.

For more information about Southside Hospital’s cardiac services, call 855-HEART-11.

About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 22 hospitals and over 550 outpatient facilities. We care for more than two million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 62,000 employees – 15,000+ nurses and about 3,900 physicians, including more than 2,800 members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institute. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.

Contact:
Alexandra Zendrian
516-350-3014
azendrian@northwell.edu