UP Health System – Marquette Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients

American College of Cardiology NCDR® Chest Pain—MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award recognizes sustained, high-level performance in quality of care

UP Health System – Marquette (UPHS – Marquette) has received the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR®) Chest Pain – MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2024. UPHS – Marquette is one of only 61 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes UPHS – Marquette’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that it has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award, UPHS – Marquette has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain – MI Registry for two consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and performed at the top level for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“It is an honor to award UPHS – Marquette with the Gold Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR® Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “The receipt of this award indicates that UPHS – Marquette remains committed to providing top quality, guideline-driven care for heart attack patients. Their success ensures patients are receiving the highest quality cardiovascular care.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. 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, among others.

“I speak for our entire team here when I say we are thrilled and honored to receive this performance award,” said Tonya Darner, MBA, chief executive officer, UPHS – Marquette. “When patients come to our hospital to receive emergent care for heart attacks, they not only receive the highest quality care of our region, but some of the highest quality care in our nation.”   

Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry empowers healthcare provider teams to consistently treat heart attack 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 high-risk heart attack patients.

UPHS – Marquette provides the largest offering of cardiovascular services in the Upper Peninsula — including general cardiology, diagnostic testing, diagnostic and interventional cardiology, clinical research, electrophysiology, rehabilitation, vascular care and open-heart surgery. As a Duke Health Affiliate in heart, UP Health System – Marquette collaborates with the Duke Heart Network to optimize patient outcomes, promote evidence-based medicine, improve community health and facilitate access to clinical research.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR® registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at ACC.org or follow @ACCinTouch.