Novato Community Hospital Honored for Clinical Excellence in Cardiac Care
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 Novato Community Hospital has received a leadership award for its extraordinary level of clinical excellence in cardiac care. The honor was based on nationally recognized quality measures and awarded by VHA Inc., a national health care provider alliance of more than 2,400 not-for-profit health care organizations.
NCH and three other Sutter Health affiliates are among only nine VHA member hospitals across California to receive the award. NCH was honored with the organization’s 2006 Leadership Award for excellence in cardiac care for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), which is more commonly referred to as a heart attack.
NCH Assistant Administrator Vicki White, RN, MS, said, “Novato Community Hospital makes every effort to deliver the highest quality health care to everyone who enters our doors,” “We joined Sutter Health in launching a special program focused on improving outcomes for patients following a heart attack.”
White credits a unique interagency partnership for saving lives of Novato residents suffering a heart attack. A three-way partnership with Novato Fire Protection District Paramedics, the Novato Community Hospital Emergency Department and Marin General Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Lab is able to shave precious minutes off the time it takes to get patients into treatment.
Novato residents with heart attack symptoms who call 911 are quickly transported for emergency care to the nearest appropriate hospital by paramedics of the Novato Fire Protection District. If the hospital is NCH, patients are quickly evaluated then, if needed, they are quickly transported by NFPD paramedics to the MGH Catheterization. Lab.
The VHA 2006 Leadership Award for clinical excellence in cardiac care is based on a set of national performance standards recognized as indicators of quality. Novato Community Hospital performed at 90 percent or above on these clinical core measures to qualify for the award. For AMI, heart attacks, the measures include:- Aspirin prescribed at time of patient’s arrival
- Aspirin prescribed at time of patient’s discharge
- ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers administration for left ventricular systolic dysfunction
- Adult smoking cessation advice/counseling provided to patient prior to discharge
- Beta blocker prescribed at time of patient’s arrival
- Beta blocker prescribed at time of patient’s discharge
- Amount of time until thrombolysis administered
- Amount of time until PCI performed
June 5, 2006
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