Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center Receives Top Mission: Lifeline Achievement Award

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. (October 1, 2015) – Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center earns the Mission: Lifeline^® Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award from the American Heart Association for the second consecutive time. The hospital was honored with the award for implementing specific quality improvement measures for the treatment of severe heart attack patients.

Each year in the United States, approximately 250,000 people have a ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), caused by a complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to immediately restore blood flow, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by administering a clot-busting medication.

At the same time Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center was recognized, the Palm Beach Gardens Fire and Rescue team also received a 2015 Mission: Lifeline achievement – The EMS Silver Level Recognition Award. This award acknowledges that the team has the ability to rapidly identify the STEMI, promptly notify the destination center and trigger an early response from awaiting hospital personnel.

“Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is pleased to be the only hospital in Palm Beach County to receive an American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline Award alongside local EMS providers,” said Jeffrey M. Welch, hospital chief executive officer. “By working together with Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, we have created an integrated, seamless system that allows us to provide the community with high quality care.”

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center received the highest level of the award, Lifeline Gold, for meeting specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients by providing emergency procedures to reestablish blood flow to blocked arteries when needed. The hospital met eight designated metrics with a composite score of 85% or higher, with no single measure below 75% for two consecutive years.

As the first hospital in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast to perform open-heart surgery, The Heart & Vascular Institute at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center remains one of the area’s top heart hospitals. With a team that consists of highly skilled cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nurses, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, dietitians, pharmacists and other clinical staff, the hospital has performed over 16,000 open-heart surgeries and more than 100,000 cardiac catheterizations to date. To learn more about the Heart & Vascular Institute, please visit www.pbgmc.com/our-services/heart.