Lafayette Regional Health Center has received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease Rural Recognition Silver recognition for its commitment to providing rapid, research-based care for people experiencing a specific type of heart attack known as an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), considered more severe and lifethreatening than other types of heart attacks.

Each year, more than 1.2 million people in the U.S. are hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), according to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Report. About 30% of ACS cases are classified as STEMI, caused by a complete blockage in a coronary artery.

“When someone experiences a STEMI heart attack, American Heart Association guidelines call for specific actions to be performed in the hospital in a consistent and timely manner to prevent further myocardial damage and to save lives,” said Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., MPH, co-author on the American Heart Association’s presidential advisory on rural health. “Where you live should not determine if you live, and rural communities deserve high-quality cardiac care. Lafayette Regional Health Center is being recognized for consistently providing patients with the care, guidance and medical therapy they need to have the best possible chance of survival.”

The Get With The Guidelines – Coronary Artery Disease Rural Recognition is given to hospitals that demonstrate a sustained commitment to treating patients according to the most current, research-based guidelines for STEMI care, as outlined by the American Heart Association.

“We are proud that our team at Lafayette Regional Health Center is being recognized for the important work we do every day to improve the lives of people in our community who experience heart attack,” said Darrel Box, CEO. “As a hospital serving a rural community, we face challenges such as extended interfacility transportation times and limited staffing resources. We are committed to ensuring those challenges do not affect the standard of care our patients receive, giving them the best possible chance of recovery and survival.”

This recognition reflects hospitals’ performance in delivering guideline-directed STEMI care, demonstrated through composite compliance measures that include timely electrocardiogram and transfer, aspirin administration, thrombolytic therapy, receptor inhibitor and anticoagulant use, and other evidence-based interventions.