This accreditation identifies hospitals qualified to treat the most deadly form of heart attack, known as STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction). The Society of Chest Pain Centers, an international organization that helps facilities transform cardiovascular care, and the American Heart Association developed the accreditation.

To earn receiving center status, the hospital must:

• Have the expertise, facilities and equipment to perform angioplasty (a procedure for reopening blocked arteries).
• Be capable of performing angioplasty on a 24/7 basis.
• Work with emergency medical services (EMS) and referring centers (hospitals that do not perform angioplasty) to prepare for immediate treatment when heart attack patients arrive.
• Facilitate transport of heart attack patients.
• Participate in a multidisciplinary team (including representatives of EMS and hospital emergency services, cardiac catherization lab, quality improvement, coronary care unit, physician staff and nursing staff) that meets regularly to identify challenges and make continuous care improvements.
• Provide continuing education, including training for hospital staff and local EMS.
• Facilitate community awareness by providing education and resources use systems for collecting data and measuring performance to support continuous quality improvement.