News

The American College of Cardiology National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) has recognized SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital with the Platinum Performance Achievement Award for their commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for patients experiencing a heart attack.

“This award is a national recognition and testament to our dedicated team of local experts here in Mt. Vernon,” noted Walter Parham, MD, SSM Health Good Samaritan Regional Medical Director of Cardiovascular Services. He further explains, “This designation is just one of many factors that make SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital the preferred heart care center of Southern Illinois.”

SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital brings experience and innovative heart care to Mt. Vernon. This regional center for specialized health care runs a 24-hour cardiac catheterization lab giving patients access to emergent heart care services no matter the hour. This is a diagnostic test that allows the SSM Health heart care team to see how well the patient’s heart and coronary arteries are working and identify any abnormalities or blockages.

According to NCDR, data is used in both everyday practices and in research. The registry provides feedback to hospitals and practices in the form of benchmarked outcome reports which show how they are doing on an array of performance criteria. This feedback allows providers to identify areas for improvement and to track their progress. It also allows physicians to directly apply patient-based research to their daily practice.
By providing data about large numbers of patients undergoing various procedures, the registry helps facilitate studies to understand how treatments work in the real world. Hundreds of research studies and scientific abstracts have been facilitated by NCDR data.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that almost 700,000 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. In turn, without timely intervention, the heart muscle will begin to die.
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About SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital – Mt. Vernon
SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital – Mt. Vernon, operating in partnership with the Felician Sisters, is a 134-bed hospital and has the most advanced robot surgical system for minimally invasive surgery, a comprehensive neurosciences program, and a pediatric emergency and NICU telemedicine program operated in conjunction with the physicians at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Mo. In 2016, SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital was named a “Best Hospital” by US News and World Report for treatment of congestive heart failure. In recent years, Healthgrades has presented SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital with the Patient Safety Excellence Award, Outstanding Patient Experience Award, and the Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence.

For more information, visit us at ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook.


PICTURE: Walter Parham, MD, SSM Health Good Samaritan Medical Director of Cardiopulmonary Services