Danbury Hospital receives American Heart Association Quality Achievement Award

Nuvance Health’s Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Norwalk Hospital, Danbury Hospital and its New Milford campus have received American Heart Association Quality Achievement Awards for implementing specific quality improvement measures to treat patients who suffer severe heart attacks and for their commitment to managing heart failure patients.

"We are honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication and achievements in caring for patients with acute myocardial infarction,” said Dr. Mark Warshofsky, senior vice president and chair of the Nuvance Health Heart and Vascular Institute. “Our hospitals are committed to improving the quality of care for our cardiac patients. We provide a teamwork approach that allows for prompt and appropriate treatment.”

Both Danbury Hospital and Vassar Brothers Medical Center earned the 2022 Mission: Lifeline^® Gold Plus STEMI Receiving Center Achievement Award and Norwalk Hospital achieved the 2022 Mission: Lifeline^® Gold STEMI Receiving Center Achievement Award.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the deadliest type of heart attack, caused by a blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel or by providing clot-busting medication.

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation clinical treatment guidelines.

Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Danbury Hospital and Norwalk Hospital earned the awards 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.

Danbury Hospital and its New Milford campus also received American Heart Association Get with the Guidelines awards. Danbury Hospital earned the Heart Failure Gold Plus with Target: Heart Failure Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll. New Milford received the Heart Failure Gold Plus.