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Edgewood, KY— Becker’s Hospital Review recently listed St. Elizabeth Edgewood among 10 hospitals with the lowest heart attack death rates in the U.S. The report reflects 30-day heart attack mortality rates reported on CMS Hospital Compare website from July 2012 through June 2015. St. Elizabeth’s rate was 10.9 percent, compared to a national average of 14.1 percent. No other hospital in Kentucky or Greater Cincinnati was listed among the complete list of 49 hospitals recognized for low mortality rates.
“This news is affirmation that the St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular Institute is making progress against the number one killer of Americans through our integrated approach to heart care,” says Victor Schmelzer, MD, medical director of the Heart & Vascular Institute. The Institute set a goal in 2015 to work with the community to reduce heart-related deaths in Northern Kentucky by 25 percent by 2025.
In 2014, St. Elizabeth embarked on a Yale-sponsored study called Leadership Saves Lives (LSL), which was focused on lowering inpatient heart attack deaths. “While our numbers were good even before LSL began, we are not satisfied with these results and are seeking greater impact through community education and involvement, and engagement with first responders,” Dr. Schmelzer explains. “For example, we are supporting the Pulsepoint mobile phone app that alerts people to incidents nearby where CPR is needed, and training members of the community in hands-only CPR.”
This statistic is not just a number, as it reflects patients who are still alive thanks to St. Elizabeth. James McNutt is one recent example of a heart attack patient who is grateful to be alive today. “St. Elizabeth and the EMS went above and beyond. They didn’t know me; I was just another person being brought in,” says James. “They gave me care as if I was the president of the United States. They didn’t stop.”
To read the full Becker’s Hospital Review article, go to: 49 hospitals with the lowest heart attack mortality rates.