The Georgia Department of Public Health has named Floyd Medical Center a Level II Emergency Cardiac Care Center.

The Level II designation means Floyd Medical Center offers effective cardiac care for patients suffering a heart attack and can quickly and safely transport patients needing a higher level of care to an appropriate facility. Floyd will have to reapply after three years to keep its status.

Level II Emergency Cardiac Care Centers must:

• Offer 24/7/365 cardiac catheterization and angioplasty services, and report data to a national database
  
• Have written transfer plans for patients who need a higher level of care
• Have established protocols for therapeutic hypothermia for cardiac arrest patients
• Have neurologic protocols to measure how well patients are functioning when they are discharged

​According to the DPH, the mission of the state's Emergency Cardiac Care system is to improve survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and heart attacks through quality improvement, benchmarking and evidence-based guidelines.

The state's Office of Cardiac Care has also established protocols for Emergency Medical Services to appropriately diagnose, triage and transport cardiac patients.

“The Level II Emergency Cardiac Care Center designation is a testament to the quality of care that is provided by the teams here at Floyd," said Lee Clevenger, Director of Critical Care and Cardiovascular Services at Floyd. “From EMS all the way through the Emergency Care Center, the catheterization lab and the Intensive Care Unit, the dedication to providing excellent cardiac care is evident."

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for over 800,000 deaths each year in the U.S., or about one in three deaths, according to the American Heart Association. Each day, 2,300 Americans die from cardiovascular disease.