Bismarck’s Sanford Medical Center Ranks Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients
Sanford Medical Center Bismarck has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2024. Sanford Bismarck is one of only 259 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
The award recognizes Sanford’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Sanford Bismarck 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.
“Our team takes great pride in consistently delivering the high-quality heart care our patients deserve,” said Todd Schaffer, M.D., president and CEO of Sanford Bismarck. “I am extremely proud of our team’s unwavering commitment to excellence and our collaborative efforts ensure we continue to make significant, positive impacts on our patients' lives every day.”
To receive the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Sanford Bismarck has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023) 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.
“It is an honor to award Sanford Medical Center Bismarck with the Platinum Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Michael C. Kontos, M.D., FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “The receipt of this award indicates that Sanford Medical Center Bismarck remains committed to providing top quality, guideline-driven care for heart attack patients. Their success ensures patients are receiving the highest quality cardiovascular care.”
The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 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.
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.
The Sanford Bismarck region provides health care to central and western North Dakota, eastern Montana and northern South Dakota. It includes 26 clinics in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot, Dickinson, Williston and Watford City, as well as a Level II trauma center located in Bismarck.