First-in-Delaware distinction recognizes superior cardiovascular care.

(Wilmington, Del. – Oct. 15, 2020)

For its commitment to high-quality cardiovascular care, ChristianaCare’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health has earned the designation HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). ChristianaCare is the first hospital system in Delaware and one of only 28 hospitals in the U.S. to attain this highest recognition from the ACC, a nonprofit medical association representing more than 50,000 cardiovascular specialists.

Hospitals receiving HeartCARE Center designation from the ACC have proven their commitment through comprehensive process improvement, disease and procedure-specific accreditation, professional excellence and community engagement.

“Being a HeartCARE Center is one more way patients and families can be assured they are getting leading, expert heart care, and that there is no reason to leave the state for the highest quality cardiovascular care,” said Kirk N. Garratt MD, FACC, John H. Ammon Chair of Cardiology and medical director of ChristianaCare’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health. “To be the first hospital system in Delaware to earn HeartCARE Center designation is a tremendous accomplishment that reflects our passion for our patients and their care. I’m incredibly proud of the many clinical and administrative members of our entire team who made this achievement possible.”

According to the ACC, the HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence accreditation shines a light on an elite group of hospitals across the country that go above and beyond to ensure each patient has access to comprehensive and high-quality cardiovascular care.

Hospitals and health systems that have earned this recognition have met a detailed set of criteria, including participation in ACC accreditation services programs, the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and targeted quality improvement campaigns designed to help institutions close gaps in guideline-based care.

The Center for Heart & Vascular Health is the recipient of numerous quality and safety awards. Recent recognition from the ACC consists of the 2020 Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award. The Center for Heart & Vascular health also received the American Heart Association’s 2020 Mission: Lifeline Gold Receiving Quality Achievement Award for the treatment of patients who suffer severe heart attacks and the 2020 Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure Gold Plus Award.

About the Center for Heart & Vascular Health
ChristianaCare’s Center for Heart & Vascular Health is among the largest, most capable regional heart centers on the East Coast. It is one of the only centers in the region that integrates in a single location and under one roof cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, vascular interventional radiology, cardiology and interventional nephrology. Its team of experienced cardiovascular surgeons and heart experts perform more than 700 open-heart procedures each year and treat more than 8,000 total heart and vascular cases annually. For more information, visit https://christianacare.org/services/heart/.

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About ChristianaCare

Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, ChristianaCare is one of the country’s most dynamic health care organizations, centered on improving health outcomes, making high-quality care more accessible and lowering health care costs. ChristianaCare includes an extensive network of primary care and outpatient services, home health care, urgent care centers, three hospitals (1,430 beds), a freestanding emergency department, a Level I trauma center and a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, a comprehensive stroke center and regional centers of excellence in heart and vascular care, cancer care and women’s health. It also includes the pioneering Gene Editing Institute.

ChristianaCare is nationally recognized as a great place to work, rated by Forbes as the 2nd best health system for diversity and inclusion, and the 29th best health system to work for in the United States, and by IDG Computerworld as one of the nation’s Best Places to Work in IT. ChristianaCare is rated by Healthgrades as one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals and continually ranked among the nation’s best by U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek and other national quality ratings. ChristianaCare is a nonprofit teaching health system with more than 260 residents and fellows. With its groundbreaking Center for Virtual Health and a focus on population health and value-based care, ChristianaCare is shaping the future of health care.

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