Awards & Recognition

Arkansas Heart Hospital delivers the best care in the state – not just for cardiac care, but for the complete patient experience. Don’t take our word for it, though. Take it from the patients, professionals and organizations who have said so.

World’s Best Hospitals — Newsweek 

Arkansas Heart Hospital is proud to be named among the 6 best US hospitals for cardiology by Newsweek and Statista’s World’s Best Hospitals list for 6 years straight. This ranking is determined by a board of medical experts and based on the recommendation of medical professionals, patient surveys and performance against other medical-based criteria.

View the World’s Best Hospitals.

Five-Star Rating — Center For Medicare and Medicaid 

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid rates more than 4,500 hospitals throughout the United States. We are proud to be recognized for our commitment to outstanding patient care for two years in a row – the only Arkansas hospital to achieve this status.

The star rating system incorporates data from a wide variety of quality measures, including safety, patient experience and other patient outcomes. Similar measures are grouped together into one of seven areas, and each of these groups is given a score. Weighted group scores are used to calculate a summary score, which determines the hospital star rating.

Compare Arkansas hospitals here.

Top 22 Patient-Recommended Hospitals in the U.S. — Becker’s Healthcare 

Based on a study that assessed patient satisfaction and likelihood of recommending a hospital, Becker’s Healthcare ranked Arkansas Heart Hospital among the Top 22 Patient-Recommended Hospitals in the U.S. To be included in the list, at least 93% of patients surveyed answered that they would definitely recommend the hospital.

View the nation’s top 22 patient-recommended hospitals.

2024

  • AY About You Best of 2024 awards — Arkansas Heart Hospital, best specialty hospital
  • Arkansas Heart Hospital was named a finalist in the Category V (500+ employees) for the annual Arkansas Business of the Year awards

2023

AY Best of 2023

  • “Best Cardiology Clinic”

 AY Best Women in Health Care

  • Sarah Jones, APRN
  • Beth Crowder, APRN
  • Kelly Hall, APRN
  • Abby Nolen, APRN
  • Abby Connerly, APRN
  • Melanie Amick, APRN
  • Rose Alfano, APRN
  • Angela Simmons, APRN
  • Irina Lendel, MD
  • Monica Lo, MD
  • Rebecca Young, APRN

AMP 2023 Power Women

  • Monica Lo, MD

2022

AY’s Best of 2022 for the “Best of Cardiology Clinic”

AY’s 2022 Best Healthcare Professionals
See the full list here.

  • Samuel Bledsoe, MD
  • J.D. Fuller, MD
  • J.J. Tucker, MD
  • Carl Leding, MD
  • Vasili Lendel, MD
  • Monica Lo, MD
  • Gary Nash, MD
  • Paulo Ribeiro, MD
  • Wilson Wong, MD
  • Beth Crowder, APRN
  • Julia Ponder, APRN
  • Victoria Wheeler, RN
  • Carmen Gray, APRN

2021

Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Winner of Best of the Best Bariatric Surgeon: Samuel Bledsoe, MD

AY Best of 2021 “Best Cardiology Clinic”

Arkansas Money & Politics
See the full list here.

  • Arkansas Heart Hospital recognized in “Champions of Healthcare” in the Small Hospital category
  • Julia Ponder listed in the Nurse Practitioner list

Arkansas Times
Finalists in the Best Hospital and Best Diet/Weight Loss Center

Little Rock Soirée
Top Doc List August 2021

  • Irina Lendel, MD
  • Vasili Lendel, MD
  • Gary Nash, MD
  • Paulo Ribeiro, MD

2020

Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Best of Best Finalist, Hospital Category

AY Best Healthcare Professionals

  • Cardiology
    • Vasili Lendel, MD
    • David Mego, MD
    • Gary Nash, MD
    • Paulo Ribeiro, MD
    • Wilson Wong, MD
    • Anthanasios Stoyioglou, MD
  • Bariatric
    • James “JJ” Fuller, MD
    • Samuel Bledsoe, MD
  • Endocrinology
    • Iriana Lendel, MD
  • Nursing/Nursing Practitioner
    • Kelly Hall

AY Best Women in Healthcare
See the full list here.

  • Irina Lendel, MD
  • Kelly Hall, APRN
  • Julia Ponder
  • Rebecca Young, APRN
  • Sarah Jones, APRN
  • Monica Lo, MD
  • Shea Oxford
  • Amber Moody
  • Angela Simmons, APRN

ASBN Update Magazine
2020 Outstanding Nurse Educator Award: Lynette Flynn and Julia Ponder