St. Mary’s Health Center received the highest level of accreditation as a full Cycle III Chest Pain Center with PCI from The
Society of Chest Pain Centers.
“St. Mary’s understands that minutes really do matter when it comes to the heart,” said Denise Webber, St. Mary’s Chest Pain Center Coordinator. “Our goal is to make sure each patient with chest pain is taken care of quickly and accurately, so they can have the best possible outcome and quality of life.”
More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers 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.
The St. Mary’s Chest Pain Center has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include:
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
- Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly
- Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
- Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
- Ensuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training
- Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
- Having 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
St. Mary’s Chest Pain Center accreditation expires Jan. 26, 2014.