Mercy Medical Center Redding nationally recognized for its commitment to quality care for heart attacks.

The American Heart Association presents the Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center Silver award for implementation of quality treatment, care coordination for heart attack patients.

REDDING, Calif (August 22, 2023) — Mercy Medical Center Redding has received the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline® STEMI Receiving Center Silver recognition for its commitment to offering rapid, research-based care to people experiencing a specific type of heart attack known as an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), known to be more severe and dangerous than other types of heart attacks.

Each year, about 285,000 people in the U.S. experience this type of heart attack, caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery.¹ Nearly 40% of people who go to the emergency room with acute coronary syndrome are diagnosed with a STEMI. Like all heart attacks, this requires timely treatment to restore blood flow as quickly as possible.

Mission: Lifeline is a national, community-based initiative improving systems of care for patients with STEMI, non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), stroke and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The program focuses on streamlining processes to speed the delivery of proper treatment for time sensitive, neuro-cardiovascular disease states.

“Our goal is to deliver the highest standard of care to our patients in their greatest time of need so they can go back home to their loved ones,” said G. Todd Smith, President, Mercy Medical Center Redding. “Our team strives for excellence and I’m immensely proud of all their efforts to achieve this award.”

Recognition as a Mission: Lifeline STEMI Receiving Center is designed to showcase hospitals that provide 24/7 support for STEMI. These important facilities coordinate with a network of referring hospitals and emergency medical services to provide guideline-directed STEMI and NSTEMI care.

“Care coordination is particularly important when someone experiences a STEMI heart attack, and American Heart Association guidelines call for specific actions in the hospital and following a hospital stay,” said James G. Jollis, M.D., volunteer for the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease Systems of Care Advisory Work Group and cardiologist with The Christ Hospital Physicians – Heart & Vascular in Cincinnati. 

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

¹ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30335314/ (Epidemiology section).

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About Dignity Health North State Hospitals
Dignity Health’s three accredited, not-for-profit hospitals in the North State—Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta, Mercy Medical Center Redding, and St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Red Bluff—have received national recognition for superior safety and quality. Each is passionate about providing an exceptional patient experience, investing in our communities, advocating for the underserved, and delivering quality, affordable health services to anyone in need.

About Mission: Lifeline
Mission: Lifeline® is the American Heart Association's national initiative to advance the system of care for patients with acute, high-risk time sensitive life and/or quality of life-threatening disease states. The overarching goals of Mission: Lifeline are to bring stakeholders together in a collaborative manner and to reduce mortality and morbidity for these patients while improving overall quality of care and patient outcomes. For more information, visit heart.org.