News

Contact: Emily Theiler

North Platte, Neb., July 18, 2024 – Great Plains Health has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® – Coronary Artery Disease NSTEMI Gold recognition for its commitment to providing rapid, research-based care to patients experiencing a type of heart attack known as non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). This dedication leads to more lives saved, shorter recovery times, and fewer hospital readmissions.

Each year, more than 546,000 people experience this type of dangerous heart attack, caused by a partial blockage of blood flow to the heart. Like all heart attacks, this requires timely treatment to restore blood flow as quickly as possible.

“In the event of an NSTEMI heart attack, adherence to the American Heart Association’s guidelines is critical. These guidelines include specific recommendations for in-hospital care and cardiac rehabilitation post-discharge,” said Abhinav Goyal, M.D., MHS, FACC, FAHA, American Heart Association volunteer, professor in the Department of Cardiology at Emory School of Medicine with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and chief quality officer for the Emory Heart and Vascular Center. “Great Plains Health is among the institutions recognized for consistently providing patients with evidence-based NSTEMI care, which offers the best chance of preventing another heart attack.”

The NSTEMI Center award is earned by hospitals that demonstrate a commitment to treating patients according to the most up-to-date research-based guidelines for NSTEMI care as outlined by the American Heart Association.

"Great Plains Health is honored to be recognized by the American Heart Association for our dedication to providing optimal care for heart attack patients," said Ivan Mitchell, Great Plains Health chief executive officer. "The Get With The Guidelines program puts proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis so patients have the best possiblechance of survival. Our dedicated team at Great Plains Health goes above and beyond, ensuring each patient feels supported and cared for throughout their recovery journey."

Great Plains Health also received the American Heart Association’s Target: Type 2 Diabetes™ Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke.

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About Great Plains Health
Based in North Platte, Nebraska, Great Plains Health is a fully accredited, 116-bed acute-care regional medical center serving western and central Nebraska, northern Kansas and southern South Dakota. With 90 physicians representing nearly 30 medical specialties, the Great Plains Health system offers advanced health care, including heart and vascular, cancer, and orthopedic surgery services. Great Plains Health is a Level III trauma center, and all of its emergency department physicians are residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine. The system employs approximately 1,200 employees and serves a geographic area spanning more than 67,000 square miles. The hospital is accredited by the Center for Improvement in Healthcare Quality (CIHQ) and is home to an American College of Surgeons-accredited cancer center and Level II bariatric surgery program. For more information, visit gphealth.org.

About Get With The Guidelines

Get With The Guidelines® is the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s hospital-based quality improvement program that provides hospitals with the latest research-based guidelines. Developed with the goal of saving lives and hastening recovery, Get With The Guidelines has touched the lives of more than 14 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.