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On September 26, 2024, the Virginia Heart Attack Coalition (VHAC) hosted its highly anticipated annual Statewide Meeting at the Boar’s Head Resort in Charlottesville, Virginia. The event brought together healthcare professionals, emergency service providers, and cardiac care leaders from across the state to discuss advancements, share best practices, and forge stronger collaborations in cardiac care.
Key Highlights of the Event:
Welcome Address and Opening Remarks: The meeting began with a warm welcome from VHAC leadership, who outlined the coalition’s ongoing mission to improve cardiac care across the state. The focus was on collaboration, innovation, and data-driven improvements that benefit both patients and healthcare providers.
Keynote Presentation by Steven Smith, MD: Our keynote speaker, Steven Smith, MD captivated the audience with his presentation on the current and future state of cardiac care. Dr. Smith discussed the importance of incorporating new technologies into care protocols and emphasized the need for regional cooperation to address healthcare disparities.
Regional Updates: VHAC Regional Leads provided comprehensive updates on the progress of cardiac care initiatives in their respective areas. These updates highlighted key achievements, including faster heart attack response times, improved EMS-hospital coordination, and efforts to increase public awareness of heart attack symptoms.
Clinical Workgroups Updates: Workgroup Champions showcased their progress and future initiatives. Each workgroup provided a high-level presentation, offering key insights into their focus areas and impact on cardiac care across Virginia. Workgroup presentations and supplemental material is available at Clinical Workgroups | VHAC (vaheartattackcoalition.org).
AHA Updates and Mission Lifeline Awards: The meeting also featured important updates from the American Heart Association (AHA), including the latest guidelines and advancements in cardiac care. AHA representatives emphasized the importance of adhering to updated protocols to improve patient outcomes and reduce treatment delays. Additionally, the Mission Lifeline Awards were highlighted, recognizing hospitals and EMS agencies across Virginia that demonstrated excellence in providing timely, evidence-based care to heart attack and stroke patients. These awards serve as a benchmark for quality in cardiac care, encouraging healthcare organizations to continuously strive for improvement in patient treatment and outcomes.
The success of this year’s VHAC Statewide Meeting would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors. We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Stryker and Abiomed for their invaluable contributions.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward, VHAC remains committed to driving improvements in cardiac care by:
Implementing statewide standardized care protocols.
Expanding the use of advanced technologies in cardiac care.
Strengthening regional collaborations to address disparities in care access.
Increasing public education and awareness efforts about heart health.
We once again thank all the participants, guest speakers, Steven Smith, MD. Regional Leads, Workgroup Champions, the AHA team and our sponsors Stryker and Abiomed for making this event a great success.
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