Stamford Hospital Receives National Recognition from American Heart Association and American Stroke Association

Published: October 01, 2021

This month, Stamford Health received two achievement awards from the American Heart Association (AHA) and one from the American Stroke Association (ASA).  These awards are for implementing quality improvement measures that ensure cardiovascular patients receive efficient and coordinated care, ultimately leading to more lives saved, shorter recovery times and fewer returns to the hospital.

Stamford Health’s Heart & Vascular Institute received these awards from the AHA:

  • Mission: Lifeline® NSTEMI Gold Award: Recognizes specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of NSTEMI heart attack patients by providing emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries when needed.  In NSTEMI, coronary artery blockages cause a part of the heart muscle to not receive blood.
  • Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Gold Award: Recognizes specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI heart attack patients. STEMI is a very serious form of heart attack in which a coronary artery is blocked, and the full thickness of the heart muscle cannot receive blood.

 Stamford Health’s Stroke Center received the following award from the ASA:

 Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus with Honor Roll and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll: Recognizes achieving specific quality measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke patients including evaluation of the use of optimal medications and other stroke treatments aligned with the most evidence-based guidelines.

“Here at Stamford Health, we are proud to have received the STEMI Gold Award for the fourth consecutive year, the NSTEMI Gold Award for the second consecutive year, and the Stroke Gold/Gold Plus Award for the seventh consecutive year,” stated Rohit Bhalla, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Quality, and Chief Clinical and Quality Officer at Stamford Health. “These awards recognize our continued high performance in acute myocardial infarction and stroke care.”

Nearly half of all adults in the U.S. have experienced some form of cardiovascular disease – including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. For patients with conditions that are severe enough to be transported or admitted to the hospital, time is critical.

The American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline and Get With The Guidelines programs help reduce barriers to prompt treatment for cardiovascular events. As a participant in these programs, Stamford Hospital qualified for the award recognitions through demonstrated commitment to improving quality care for patients.

“We are honored to receive these awards from the AHA and ASA,” stated Stamford Health President and CEO Kathleen Silard. “Our staff is our most precious resource, and these awards are a true testament to their everyday dedication to patient centered care and quality outcomes.”

“We are pleased to recognize Stamford Health for their commitment to cardiovascular care,” said Lee H. Schwamm, M.D., national chairperson of the American Heart Association’s Quality Oversight Committee and Executive Vice Chair of Neurology, Director of Acute Stroke Services, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts. “Research has shown that hospitals adhering to clinical measures through the American Heart Association’s quality improvement programs often see fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates.”

These awards follow several recent prestigious recognitions, including recognition from U.S. News and World Report in four areas, an ‘A’ rating from The Leapfrog Group, Magnet designation by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, and a 5-star rating from Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), including being designated the highest CMS value-based payment program in the state.

About Stamford Health

Stamford Health is a non-profit independent healthcare system with more than 3,700 employees committed to caring for the community through a wide range of high-quality health and wellness services. Patients and their families receive expert, compassionate care through the system’s 305-bed Stamford Hospital; Stamford Health Medical Group, with more than 40 offices in lower Fairfield County offering primary and specialty care; a growing number of ambulatory locations across the region; and support through the Stamford Hospital Foundation.

Stamford Health is known for its expert, person-centered care through its many recognitions and partnerships. Stamford Hospital is the only hospital in Fairfield County, CT to receive a grade of A from The Leapfrog Group, an independent watchdog organization for protecting patient safety. U.S. News & World Report has recognized Stamford Hospital as a High Performing Hospital. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rated Stamford Hospital as a five-star hospital for Overall Quality. The American Nurses Credentialing Center has granted Stamford Hospital Magnet Status, which recognizes superior patient care with the highest level of safety, quality and patient satisfaction. Stamford Hospital is a Planetree Gold-Certified Person-Centered Hospital of Distinction, and one of only seven in the world to attain that distinction.


Stamford Health is also a major teaching affiliate of the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Stamford Health and Hospital for Special Surgery have created a premier center for specialty orthopedic care right in Stamford, CT. Additionally, Stamford Health’s Carl & Dorothy Bennett Cancer Center recently announced an expanded collaboration with Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center.

Dedicated to being the community’s most trusted healthcare partner, Stamford Health puts patients first to build long-lasting relationships. For more information, visit StamfordHealth.org. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Stamford Health’s Heart & Vascular Institute is the only comprehensive heart and vascular program in Lower Fairfield County - offering cardiology and surgical services including general cardiology, non-invasive testing, cardiac rehabilitation, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, structural heart disease and valve care, open heart surgery and vascular surgery. Stamford Health uses state-of-the-art technology such as cardiac MRI imaging and multi-detector CT coronary angiography, all in a single care environment. 

About Mission: Lifeline

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.  For more information, visit heart.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 9 million patients since 2001. For more information, visit heart.org.

Our website uses cookies

This website uses cookies to give you the very best experience. Your continued use of this site is considered permission by you to use cookies in this manner. Please review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for more information about the data we collect and the types of cookies we use. Please note, if you link off our website to a 3rd party site of any kind, that website has its own terms and conditions.