UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital has launched a Heart Saver Program to give away 50 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and 100 Stop the Bleed first aid kits. First responders, ambulance crews and nonprofit organizations in Benton, Jones and Linn counties are invited to apply for one or both items by submitting an online application at unitypoint.org/HeartSaverProgram.

Deadline to apply is December 12, and recipients will be announced in February 2023, during American Heart Month.

St. Luke’s Heart Saver Program is effort to place AEDs and trauma first aid kits into the community, in order to save lives through early intervention of cardiac arrest and traumatic injuries.

Sudden cardiac arrest is a life-threatening condition caused by the unexpected loss of heart function. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Heart Association (AHA), 70 percent of cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital, and 70 to 90 percent of those individuals die before reaching the emergency room. Alternatively, nine out of 10 cardiac arrest victims who receive a shock from an AED in the first minute live.

In the event of a traumatic injury, a person can die from blood loss within minutes. Stop the Bleed is a national movement, which educates and arms bystanders to address a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.

“CPR or use of an AED is critical for someone who suddenly loses consciousness and has stopped breathing,” explains Dr. Richard Kettelkamp, St. Luke’s Heart Care Clinic cardiologist. “Similarly, during a traumatic injury, it’s important to move quickly to stop the bleed. That’s why we think the Heart Saver Program is so important – it gives people the tools they need to start care before an ambulance crew arrives, which gives them the best chance of survival.”

St. Luke’s Heart Saver Program is funded by St. Luke’s Foundation. For more information or to apply for an AED or Stop the Bleed kit, visit unitypoint.org/HeartSaverProgram.

St. Luke’s is Cedar Rapids’ Heart Hospital. The first open heart surgery was performed at St. Luke’s in 1978. The Heart Saver Program aims to honor St. Luke’s Heart Care Team’s commitment to saving lives and raising awareness around matters of the heart.

The Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) honored two UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital team members at its annual meeting, Carmen Kleinsmith and  Clif White.

Carmen Kleinsmith, MSN, RN, senior vice president and chief nurse executive  at UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital was named the 2022 Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders’ (IONL) Outstanding Nurse Executive.

The IONL award is intended to recognize an individual who demonstrates outstanding achievement in nursing leadership and holds the leadership position of Nurse Executive. IONL is an affiliate group of the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA).

Ms. Kleinsmith has worked at St. Luke’s since 1984, beginning as a staff nurse on 5 West Telemetry. During her time at St. Luke’s, she has held a variety of leadership roles. She was named chief nurse executive in 2016.

Clif White, UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital Safety and Regulatory Compliance program manager was honored as a 2022 Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Hospital Hero award for demonstrating exceptional commitment to care and service.

The Hospital Heroes program celebrates employees who have acted courageously in a moment’s crisis or who have selflessly served their hospitals and communities throughout their careers. Hospital Heroes are nominated by their peers.

Mr. White has worked at St. Luke’s since 2018.

Originally published in the Corridor Business Journal: https://corridorbusiness.com/iowa-hospital-association-honors-unitypoint-health-st-lukes-hospital-employees/

UnityPoint Health – St. Luke’s Hospital has earned national recognition from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) in U.S. News & World Report’s 2023 “Best Hospitals” guidebook. ACC uses this publication to highlight hospitals and health systems that implement high standards in patient care and protocols to ensure best cardiovascular outcomes are delivered to every patient, every time.

In the publication the ACC recognizes all hospitals and facilities that participate in National Cardiovascular Data Registries (NCDR) or have received an accreditation or certification from ACC Services.
ACC’s NCDR is cardiology’s most established, comprehensive registry offering. Participants are committed to ensuring evidence-based cardiovascular care, improving patient outcomes and lowering health care costs. Facilities achieving an ACC accreditation are committed to establishing a method for sustainable quality improvement.

St. Lukes is recognized for its participation in four ACC registries, honored with two accreditations and received a platinum award. St. Luke’s is the only hospital in Iowa with this level of commitment to these proven quality heart programs.

“We are proud of this recognition,” said Dr. Richard Kettelkamp, St. Luke’s Heart Care interventional cardiologist and medical director of cardiovascular services. “This national recognition demonstrates the level of commitment St. Luke’s Heart and Vascular team has for delivering quality care to heart patients in Eastern Iowa.”

Among St. Luke’s recognitions in the 2023 guidebook are:

Registries
C CathPCI Registry® (Diagnostic cardiac catheterization and percutaneous coronary intervention (non-surgical, catheter-based procedures)) Measures adherence to the ACC/American Heart Association clinical practice guideline recommendations, procedure performance standards and appropriate use criteria for coronary revascularization (restoring blood flow in blocked arteries or veins).

CP Chest Pain — MI Registry™ (Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) treatment) Leverages national evidence-based standards for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for heart attack patients.

L LAAO Registry™ (Left atrial appendage occlusion procedures) Captures data on left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) procedures to assess outcomes, short and long-term safety, and comparative effectiveness.

T STS/ACC TVT Registry™ (Transcatheter valve therapy procedures) Monitors outcomes on transcatheter valve therapies leading to improved patient outcomes, enhanced assessment of treatment options and results, and more informed decision making.

Accreditations
CP Chest Pain Center Accreditation Integrates triage treatment protocols, risk stratification, and best practices for the emergency care of acute coronary syndrome patients.

TV Transcatheter Valve Certification Utilizes evidence-based science, patient outcomes and expert recommendations to standardize and improve care for patients requiring transcatheter valve therapies.

Honors
Chest Pain – MI Registry™ Award Platinum This program recognizes hospitals who have demonstrated sustained, top-level performance in quality of care and adherence to guideline recommendations.

St. Luke’s is Cedar Rapids’ Heart Hospital with over 40 years of leading heart care advancements and pioneering open heart surgery in 1978. St. Luke’s has been consistently recognized by some of the most distinguished organizations in the country for meeting or exceeding national standards of excellence in the areas of quality, innovation, safety and ethics.

U.S. News & World Report publishes its Guidebook annually with a goal to guide consumers in the process of making educated and informed decisions about where to turn for health care. It spotlights hospitals and health care systems that are leading advancements in health care – from implementation of the latest, most innovative trends to use of the newest tools and technologies to optimize patient care and outcomes.

As the global professional organization for the entire cardiovascular care team, the ACC is committed to supporting patients, caregivers and health care professionals by ensuring the highest-quality care is delivered to every patient, every time. For this year’s edition of the guidebook, the rankings and ratings included an indicator on whether featured hospitals have opted into public reporting for TAVR, looking at participation in the STS/ACC TVT Registry Public Reporting Program.

Find out more on the USNWR’s “Best Hospitals” methodology here.