BELLEVILLE, Ill., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Belleville, IL. St. Elizabeth’s is the first hospital in the St. Louis metropolitan area to receive this accreditation; it is the third accredited Chest Pain Center in Illinois and 70th in the nation.
“This reflects the commitment of our physicians and staff to meet the highest standards for the safe and effective treatment of patients with heart disease and its symptoms,” states Tim Brady, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital administrator. “Being first in the St. Louis metropolitan area to achieve this national accreditation helps identify St. Elizabeth’s as a leader in cardiac care throughout the region. This is a great example of the high level of care and competence our staff demonstrates in serving our patients.”
“The Chest Pain Center Accreditation is a great accomplishment for our hospital. St. Elizabeth’s Hospital’s Chest Pain Team is dedicated to continuously re-evaluating the way we treat chest pain and heart attack patients in order to give the best possible patient outcomes,” says Sue Beeler, manager diagnostic and interventional cardiology. “While it is a great honor to achieve recognition from the Society of Chest Pain Centers, it is important for the public to understand that care, safe treatment and positive results for our patients is our primary goal. We compare our patient outcomes to those of other nationally recognized institutions and we consistently meet or exceed those standards.”
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 ensures centers meet or exceed quality-of- care measures in acute cardiac medicine.
The Chest Pain Center at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital 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 display symptoms of a possible heart attack About St. Elizabeth’s Hospital
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is a 270-bed acute care medical facility with cardiac services that include cardiac diagnostics, Cardiac Catheterization/EP Lab, coronary artery bypass grafting, cardiac rehabilitation, a 60-bed telemetry unit, cardiovascular critical care unit and a heart failure support group. St. Elizabeth’s also maintains a Gold Seal of approval from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Facilities (JCAHO), is certified by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), is accredited by the Inter-societal Commission for the Accreditation of Vascular Labs, Committee on Laboratory Accreditations (COLA), and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
For more information please contact Craig Steiner, Director of Marketing, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital at 618-234-2120 ext. 1357 or email at csteiner@sebh.org .
About the Society of Chest Pain Center
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 on the Society of Chest Pain Centers visit http://www.scpcp.org/ , or contact Robert Weisenburger Lipetz, Executive Director at (614) 274-9710 or director@scpcp.org .
Society of Chest Pain Centers
CONTACT: Craig Steiner, Director of Marketing of St. Elizabeth’sHospital, +1-618-234-2120, ext. 1357; or Robert Weisenburger Lipetz, ExecutiveDirector of Society of Chest Pain Centers, +1-614-274-9710, ordirector@scpcp.org
Web site: http://www.scpcp.org/