South Georgia Medical Center is one of only 81 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor of the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award for 2022. In addition, SGMC also received the American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines Resuscitation Gold Award for the eighth consecutive year.  

The American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association recognize SGMC for sustained, high-level performance in quality of care.   

The awards recognize SGMC’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients, signifying that SGMC has reached an ambitious goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations. 

To receive the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Gold Performance Achievement Award, SGMC has demonstrated sustained achievement for two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) and performed at the top level for specific performance measures.  The Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety, and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.  

“We have implemented patient-centered strategies with many disciplines in order to meet the criteria for this award,” shared Dr. William Doug Luke, Chief of Cardiology at SGMC. “The cardiovascular team, which includes cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, and mid-level providers, has contributed to this achievement. The Hospitalist group, private medical physicians, and nursing staff from all areas, as well as cardiac rehab services, cath lab and outpatient cath lab prep and recovery staff, EPIC team, and medical records staff have all been vital to our successes. Our NCDR data abstractors have been instrumental in showing us our strengths, and where we have room for improvements that will benefit our patients. We are excited to have received this recognition for our collective work. We look forward to continuing to improve heart attack care for this community.” 

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that almost 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling, and cardiac rehabilitation, among others. 

SGMC has the region's only open-heart program, structural heart center, and cardiac electrophysiology program. To learn more about SGMC's heart and vascular programs visit sgmc.org.