RICHLAND, Wash., Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to Kadlec Medical Center-Richland, WA, making it the first accredited Chest Pain Center in the state of Washington. Kadlec becomes the 61st accredited center in the nation.
“The society’s seal of accreditation is an important distinction among Chest Pain Centers,” said Greg Brown, MD, medical director, Kadlec Emergency Department. “Successful treatment of heart attacks is time dependent and must be initiated quickly. This accreditation certifies that our center and staff are totally prepared to care for patients with heart attack symptoms in a rapid, systematic manner.”
“Kadlec’s administrative, medical and emergency staff all work together in a closely coordinated manner in response to chest pain emergencies,” Scott Soronen, Lead Reviewer, SCPC said. “Their commitment in this area was clearly evident during our on-site visit.”
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually of heart disease. 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 Chest Pain Center’s protocol driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
With the rise of Chest Pain Centers came the need to establish standards designed to improve the consistency and quality of care provided to patients. The Society’s accreditation process insures centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.
The Chest Pain Center at Kadlec Medical 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 - Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care - Ensuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training - Maintaining organizational structure and commitment - Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures - Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they have display symptoms of a possible heart attack About Kadlec Medical Center
Kadlec Medical Center is a 153-bed hospital located in the Tri-Cities region of Washington state. Located in Richland, Kadlec offers a full range of cardiac services, including open heart surgery and interventional cardiology. The emergency department is a 20-bed unit, with all private rooms and a separate 6-bed express care unit for minor emergencies. The critical care unit is 20 beds, and features the same functional design. Kadlec is home to a world class, all digital outpatient imaging center, featuring the latest imaging technology from GE Medical Systems, including digital mammography and the revolutionary PET/CT scanner to precisely diagnose cancer.
[For more information contact, Jim Hall, Director, Community Relations at (509) 942-2814, or at hallj@kadlecmed.org]
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international professional society focused on improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and related maladies. Established in 1998, the Society is dedicated to patient advocacy and focusing on ischemic heart disease. Central to its mission is the question, “What is right for the patient?” In answer, the Society promotes protocol-based medicine, often delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, and to promote the adoption of process improvement science by healthcare providers. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit http://www.scpcp.org/ .
For more information on the Society of Chest Pain Centers, please contact Robert Weisenburger Lipetz, Executive Director at (614) 274-9710 or director@scpcp.org.
Society of Chest Pain Centers
CONTACT: Robert Weisenburger Lipetz, Executive Director of Society ofChest Pain Centers, +1-614-274-9710, or director@scpcp.org ; or Jim Hall,Director, Community Relations, +1-509-942-2814, or hallj@kadlecmed.org , forKadlec Medical Center
Web site: http://www.scpcp.org/
