Mercy NWA, Mercy Fort Smith Among Nation's Top-Performing Hospitals for Heart Attack Care

FORT SMITH and ROGERS, Ark. (July 31, 2025) – Mercy’s hospitals in Arkansas have been recognized for excellence in heart attack care.
Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain-MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2025, while Mercy Hospital Fort Smith has received the Silver Performance Achievement Award.
The awards illustrate Mercy Arkansas’ commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signify that Mercy 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 awards, Mercy has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain-MI Registry for four consecutive quarters during 2024 and performed with distinction in specific performance measures. Some of those measures include door-in and door-out time, evaluation of systolic function, rehabilitation referrals, discharge protocols and more.
“It is an honor to recognize Mercy Arkansas hospitals 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 Mercy 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 more than 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.
“This national recognition from the American College of Cardiology is a powerful reflection of the exceptional, coordinated care our teams deliver every day,” said Ryan Gehrig, president of Mercy Arkansas Communities. “Receiving these awards demonstrates our unwavering commitment to saving lives and improving outcomes for patients experiencing chest pain and heart attacks. It’s a proud moment for Mercy and the communities we serve in Arkansas.”
The Chest Pain-MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to treat heart attack patients consistently 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.
 
Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation’s largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 50 acute care and specialty (heart, children’s, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2024 alone, Mercy provided nearly half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid. 
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.