Iowa Methodist Earns National Gold Award for Heart Attack Care
UnityPoint Health – Iowa Methodist Medical Center has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2026. Iowa Methodist Medical Center is among 19 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
These awards reflect UnityPoint Health’s commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care close to home for people experiencing a heart attack. Hospitals recognized have consistently met rigorous national standards based on American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association clinical guidelines.
“Iowa Methodist Medical Center is honored to be recognized with the Gold Performance Award as it confirms our commitment and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in heart attack care,” said Jon Rozenfeld, president of UnityPoint Health – Des Moines. “The receipt of this award for the third year in a row indicates that our teams at Iowa Methodist are committed to providing the highest quality cardiovascular care.”
Iowa Methodist Medical Center is one of 10 UnityPoint Health hospitals that received performance achievement awards from the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for 2026.
“Every minute matters when someone is having a heart attack,” said Peter George, MD, FACC UnityPoint Health Chief Medical Officer for Cardiovascular Services. “This recognition reflects how our teams work together, from emergency care to recovery, to deliver fast and effective treatment that helps patients heal and return to their lives. From a system standpoint, these awards highlight our commitment to improving outcomes and increasing access to quality care across the communities we serve in Iowa and the Midwest.”
More than 800,000 Americans experience a heart attack each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A heart attack occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked, requiring rapid diagnosis and treatment. Evidence-based care includes timely restoration of blood flow, appropriate medications, smoking cessation counseling and participation in cardiac rehabilitation.
The Chest Pain – MI Registry supports care teams in consistently applying the latest science based treatment guidelines and helps establish a national benchmark for improving quality, safety and outcomes for patients with coronary artery disease.
More information on heart and vascular care at UnityPoint Health can be found on our website, www.unitypoint.org/find-a-service/heart-care.