RUSH Copley Medical Center once again has been recognized for providing a high standard of care for patients having heart attacks, receiving the Platinum Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology. RUSH Copley is one of only 262 hospitals nationwide to receive this honor.
The award from the College’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry recognizes RUSH Copley’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for these patients. It signifies that RUSH Copley has met levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.
“Anyone can suffer from a heart attack at any time,” says RUSH cardiologist Gaurav Shah, DO, who treats patients in Aurora and Yorkville. “At RUSH Copley, we strive to provide the utmost lifesaving care to our patients within minutes of arrival to the emergency room. We are pleased to receive this recognition for RUSH Copley Medical Center.”
Eighty-five percent of heart damage occurs within the first two hours of a heart attack, says Christopher Hwang, MD, emergency medicine physician at RUSH Copley. “It’s of critical importance to treat heart attacks immediately and correctly,” he says. “Our focus is on providing quality care with compassion.”
To receive this award, RUSH Copley demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures.
“From the emergency department to the cath lab to discharge, our team providing care is best of class,” says Barb Douglas, MBA, BSN, director of Heart and Vascular Services at RUSH Copley. “Our dedicated providers and care teams provide the most current and advanced medicine so our patients have the best possible outcomes.”
More than 800,000 Americans suffer heart attacks each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 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.
The Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat 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 patients at high risk of heart attack.
