St. Joseph’s Hospital-North Honored By American Heart Association

LUTZ, FL — St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has earned the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Receiving Award for meeting and exceeding specific standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment of patients suffering heart attacks. The performance metrics consider the entire process from the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport, to hospital treatment to discharge. This is the third consecutive year that St. Joseph’s Hospital-North has received the award.

“STEMI” is an acronym for ST elevation myocardial infarction, the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. For these heart attacks, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

St. Joseph’s Hospital-North received a “Gold” designation for the Mission: Lifeline STEMI award, meaning the hospital has achieved the quality measures for 24 months.

“These awards seek to recognize those hospital cardiovascular programs that meet the highest standard of quality,” said Dr. Christopher Pastore, an interventional cardiologist affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital-North. “It is based on objective data that is measured and comparable. Given that interventional cardiology is always a team-based endeavor, the results reflect a huge collective effort and commitment of administrators, physicians, nurses, technicians, and support staff.”

Dr. Pastore continued: “This award means that St Joseph’s Hospital-North achieves excellence in providing cardiovascular care to the community it serves. It means every local resident and visitor should feel security in knowing that this hospital will care for them at the highest level of quality and safety. It is a well-deserved recognition of the team-based effort to deliver the very best care. It is a great honor that the administration and staff should be very proud of.”

“This award signifies our dedication to providing quality care to all our cardiac patients in the community, said Dr. Katrina Cordero, an emergency medicine and family physician affiliated with St. Joseph’s Hospital North. “We strive to continually do the best that we can.”

“Exceptional patient care is our top priority, and we are proud to achieve this “Gold” designation from the American Heart Association,” said Tom Garthwaite, president of St. Joseph’s Hospital-North. “Our community can be reassured that it is safe to use the hospital and emergency room and that their care remains in the safe hands of the cardiovascular program at St. Joseph’s Hospital-North.”

This press release was produced by BayCare Health System. The views expressed here are the author's own.