Saratoga Hospital earns national recognition for cardiovascular care

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The American Heart Association recently recognized Saratoga Hospital with “Gold Plus” achievement awards for its commitment to best practices in treating patients with strokes and heart attacks.

Research shows these practices help save lives, reduce recovery times and prevent readmission to the hospital.

Saratoga Hospital, a member of the Albany Med Health System, earned two prestigious quality achievement awards:

• The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association Get With The Guidelines® — Stroke Gold Plus Target: Stroke Honor Roll.

• Mission: Lifeline® — STEMI Receiving Center — Gold Plus. STEMI stands for “ST elevation myocardial infarction,” an especially severe and dangerous type of heart attack.

“If you’re having a stroke or heart attack, your survival and quality of life depend on how quickly you receive the most appropriate treatment,” said Dr. Robert Donnarumma, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Saratoga Hospital and medical director of its stroke program. “That’s why this national recognition is so important.

“It lets our community know that, right here at Saratoga Hospital, your care will reflect the latest researchbased guidelines. There’s no need to lose precious time traveling elsewhere.”

Saratoga Hospital received a Mission: Lifeline award for heart attack care four years in a row. The Get with the Guidelines stroke award comes less than two years after the hospital launched a telestroke program that gives patients around-the-clock emergency access to neurologists who have extensive experience treating strokes.

“This is a remarkable achievement for such a young program, made possible by support and input from so many people throughout Saratoga Hospital and the Albany Med Health System,” said Jeffrey Winacott, administrative director of Saratoga Hospital’s cardiovascular and teleneurology service lines. “Earning the Gold Plus and Honor Roll designations underscores the quality of our program and our commitment to ensuring that high-quality stroke care is available 24/7 in the Saratoga region.”

For both heart attacks and strokes, patients receive immediate emergency care at Saratoga Hospital. Patients who require higher-level services are then transferred to Albany Medical Center, a member of the Albany Med Health System.

The medical center is nationally recognized for cardiac care and is the Capital Region’s only comprehensive stroke center.