Baptist Health Corbin Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Treatment of Heart Attack Patients

CORBIN, KY (July 1, 2024) Baptist Health Corbin has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2024. Baptist Health Corbin is one of only 259 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes Baptist Health Corbin’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Baptist Health Corbin has reached an aggressive 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 Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Baptist Health Corbin has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain ̶ MI Registry for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023) and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“It is an honor to award Baptist Health Corbin with the Platinum Performance Award for their valuable national leadership and dedication to meeting comprehensive performance measures in patient care,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain–MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, and cardiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “The receipt of this award indicates that Baptist Health Corbin remains committed to providing top quality, guideline-driven care for heart attack patients. Their success ensures patients are receiving the highest quality cardiovascular care.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. 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.

“We are incredibly honored to receive the Platinum Performance Achievement Award for the third consecutive year. This prestigious recognition is a testament to the unwavering dedication and collaborative effort of our exceptional teams, who consistently strive to provide the highest standard of cardiac care to our patients.” Said Tracy Bruck, DNP, EdS, MSN, RN, CHFN, Chest Pain Center/STEMI Cand Heart Failure Educator. “These teams include the Emergency Department, Cardiac Cath Lab, Hospitalists, Cardiologists, Nursing units and nursing staff, ancillary support departments and Baptist Health Corbin Administration. I am very proud of their success in caring for cardiac patients in the Tri-County area.”

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.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org or follow @ACCinTouch.

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About Baptist Health Corbin’s history

In late July 1986, Baptist Regional Medical Center, which operated out of the old Corbin Municipal Hospital on Bishop Street, moved to a new facility on Cumberland Falls Highway. Three sites had been considered for the relocation and, after much debate, Whitley County was chosen.

Patients were brought by ambulance from Southeast Kentucky Baptist Hospital to the relocated medical center. The new facility was spacious and allowed for an increase in the number of beds — unlike the former space, which was leased and landlocked, leaving no room for expansion.

To build the new 210-bed hospital, more than 160,000 tons of earth were moved for construction of the $32 million facility.

The new space enabled multiple services to be added over the years, including magnetic resonance imaging, Neonatal Intensive Care units for newborns who require extra care, laser surgery, women’s health services at the Women’s Health Care Center, and help for emotional problems and addictions through the Trillium Center.

"Quality close to home" was the medical center’s mission statement. In 2001, the center became the first hospital to win the Governor’s Gold Quality Award, given to companies for their public service work.

Baptist Regional expanded its facilities several times, including the addition of an emergency department and the opening of a Critical Care unit and Outpatient Surgery Center.

Off-site facilities also opened, such as Baptists Physicians Southeast, allowing for many more physician services, such as pulmonary, transfusion, and psychiatry for adults and adolescents.

In 2012, the hospital changed its name to Baptist Health Corbin as part of a systemwide rebranding effort.

Today, Baptist Health Corbin is a 273-bed, acute care facility providing a wide variety of healthcare services to residents of Whitley, Knox, Laurel, Bell, Clay, McCreary counties in Kentucky and Harlan and Campbell counties in Tennessee.