Bayhealth has earned two national honors recognizing their commitment to safe, high-quality heart and vascular care.
Bayhealth Kent Campus received the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines Coronary Artery Disease STEM!. The hospital received bronze recognition for proven dedication to best practices and life-saving heart care. In addition, Bayhealth Heart & Vascular Institute earned the American College of Cardiology’s 2026 HeartCARE Cetner designation.
The American Heart Association recognition is based on data from October 1 through December 31, 2025. The Get with the Guidelines award recognizes Bayhealth’s evidence-based guidelines used to improve care for patients experiencing an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEM), which is the most severe type of heart attack.
“For patients experiencing STEM!, rapid treatment and coordinated care are critical,” Roberto Scaffidi, MD, interventional cardiologist and medical director of Interventional Laboratories, said. “This recognition shows that our teams are following proven practices designed to shorten the time to treatment and give patients the possible chance for recovery.”
Get With the Guidelines helps hospitals align patient care with the latest research-based recommendations. The 2026 Bronze recognition reflects one calendar quarter of performance and required Kent Campus to meet AHA achievement and patient-volume criteria for STEM! receiving centers.
“This achievement reflects the preparation and teamwork that happen every day across our interventional laboratories,” Jacqueline Thomas, senior manager of Interventional Laboratories, said. “Our clinicians and team members work closely with emergency medical services and departments throughout the hospital to make sure each patient receives timely, safe and compassionate care.”
Bayhealth Heart & Vascular Institute’s 2026 HeartCARE Center designation marks the fifth consecutive year Bayhealth has earned the ACC’s national distinction of excellence. The designation is awarded annually to hospitals that demonstrate a comprehensive, sustainable commitment to cardiovascular quality improvement, patient safety and successful outcomes.
“Together, these honors show the strength of Bayhealth’s heart and vascular program and our continued focus on quality improvement,” Scaffidi said.
Hospitals must meet rigorous ACC requirements that include cardiovascular accreditations, participation in national quality registries and continued involvement in quality-improvement initiatives. Bayhealth offers a full range of heart and vascular services including emergency heart attack care, open-heart surgery, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, stroke prevention for atrial fibrillation, vascular surgery, advanced imaging and cardiopulmonary rehabilitation.
For more information about Bayhealth Heart and Vascular Institute and its comprehensive services, visit them online.
