Main Line Health hospitals receive recognition from American Heart Association

All four of Main Line Health’s acute care hospitals are the recipients of the 2020 American Heart Association (AHA) Mission: Lifeline® and American Stroke Association (ASA) Get with the Guidelines® - Stroke Quality Achievement Awards. Each hospital independently received these recognitions by implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks and stroke. 

“I am extremely proud of Main Line Health for this recognition from the AHA and ASA. Main Line Health is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients who suffer a heart attack or stroke. The Mission: Lifeline and Get with the Guidelines - Stroke programs are helping us accomplish that goal through nationally-respected clinical guidelines and benchmarks,” said Jack Lynch, President and CEO, Main Line Health.

Lankenau Medical Center received the Mission: Lifeline Receiving Center Recognition Gold Plus Award and Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital, and Riddle Hospital received the Mission: Lifeline Receiving Center Recognition Gold Award. Riddle Hospital’s EMS team also received the Mission Lifeline – EMS Gold Plus recognition. 

The AHA’s Mission: Lifeline program’s goal is to reduce system barriers to prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge. The initiative provides tools, training and other resources to support heart attack care following protocols from the most recent evidence-based treatment guidelines. 

William Gray, MD, system chief of cardiovascular diseases, and president, Lankenau Heart Institute, added: “It is such an honor for all of our hospitals to receive this award in recognition of our dedication and achievements in cardiac care. I am incredibly proud of our teams and the work of our EMS providers who are on the front lines, ensuring patients are receiving timely initial diagnoses and treatments before they reach the hospital.”

The awards are presented to hospitals for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the AHA for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks. Main Line Health hospitals earned the award by meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.

Additionally, each of Main Line Health’s acute care hospitals received the Get with the Guidelines® Gold Plus Quality Achievement award for stroke. To receive the Get with the Guidelines award, Main Line Health hospitals achieved 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and achieved 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care. Main Line Health consistently exceeded these standards.

“Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 610,000 of these are first or new strokes. I am so incredibly proud of our staff for working together to improve stroke outcomes for our patients and community members. Our team continues to dedicate themselves to providing safe, compassionate and efficient care to all,” said Michelle Smith, MD, system division chief of neurosurgery, Main Line Health.

Get with The Guidelines - Stroke program improves stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to the latest scientific guidelines. The award recognizes the commitment and success of each hospital’s staff in implementing a higher standard of care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted guidelines. In addition to Bryn Mawr Hospital recently earning Thrombectomy-Capable Stroke Center (TSC) certification from The Joint Commission, in collaboration with the AHA/ASA, each Main Line Health hospital was recognized for their expanded efforts and capabilities to provide quality care through administering evidence-based therapies for stroke.

“It’s important to stress that, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical not to put off needed emergency care for heart attack and stroke, which can be disabling or fatal if not treated quickly. Main Line Health and our network of community practices are taking increased precautions and have implemented CDC-recommended cleaning protocols to keep both our patients and workers safe at Main Line Health and throughout our communities,” adds Dr. Gray.