Mission Hospital’s Memorial Campus in Asheville, North Carolina recently received full Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. Accreditation expires on April 18, 2018.
Cardiologist William Maddox Jr., MD, is Mission Heart’s physician champion of the STEMI (ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction) program – responsible for advanced heart attack treatment strategies. He explained, “The accreditation process required us to gather much current and old information, and to reevaluate all of our policies and processes from the last three to five years. For our patients, the accreditation means we are committed to a more effective and efficient program that provides higher quality. We’ll also be monitoring our progress more closely in the future to continually find ways to enhance patient care.”
Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, COO, Mission Health and President, Mission Hospital and Mission Medical Associates added, “I am pleased that Mission Hospital has recently achieved Chest Pain Center with PCI accreditation through the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. This achievement is part of our continued quality journey and is evidence that our devotion to the patient remains the primary focus in all that we do. We have a team of dedicated caregivers that have exhibited true determination to rise above the established standards of care and continue to closely monitor and improve the care that is provided every day.”
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The SCPC’s goal is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
An accredited Chest Pain Center’s (CPC) evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. Accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event. Such monitoring ensures patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
SCPC’s CPC Accreditation process came about as greater numbers of facilities in the United States sought to establish standards and adopt best practices in the quality of care provided to patients experiencing chest pain. SCPC’s CPC Accreditation process ensures that hospitals meet or exceed an array of stringent criteria and undergo a comprehensive on-site review by a team of accreditation review specialists.
Hospitals that receive SCPC’s CPC Accreditation status have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who present with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.
Dr. Maddox said, “The Mission Heart team goes to this great effort to achieve this accreditation because we are proud of what we have and the system we’ve put together. The team has been meeting for 26 years now to improve our outcomes. We enjoy our efforts, and we know we are doing something important.”
By achieving SCPC’s Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation status, Mission Hospital’s Memorial Campus demonstrates expertise in the following areas:
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly
- Effectively treating patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
- Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
- Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel
- Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
- Constructing a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
- Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack