Longview hospital receives highest chest pain center accreditation
LONGVIEW, TX – Good Shepherd Medical Center announces it has been recommended by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) to become Longview's only hospital to receive Cycle III Chest Pain with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) Accreditation, the highest level of accreditation for Chest Pain Centers. The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international organization dedicated to eliminating heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. This organization has received recognition from the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Board of Emergency Medicine as the Gold Standard for Chest Pain Center Accreditation.
The SCPC promotes Chest Pain Centers as an Operational Model for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) care. The care of the ACS patient starts from the onset of the patient's symptoms, and includes engagement of Emergency Dispatch Services, Emergency Medical Services, reperfusion, observation unit, cardiac rehab and to discharge from the facility.
"Good Shepherd is committed to taking every opportunity possible to advance the quality healthcare we offer to our patients," said Ed Banos, president and CEO, said. "Becoming an accredited Chest Pain Center proves we have amplified the quality of our cardiac services and are prepared to care for heart patients every day of the year."
To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Good Shepherd was surveyed by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. These criteria include:
Reducing the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment
Treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved
Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital
Good Shepherd's code STEMI program measures the amount of time in which its team is able to successfully stop a heart attack. The Good Shepherd team successfully performs this feat in less than 60 minutes on average – while the national benchmark is 90 minutes.
Good Shepherd also continues its dedication to leading edge technology so patients receive the most advanced care available. Over the past five years, Good Shepherd has invested almost $4 million in technology enhancements including the addition of electrophysiology equipment to provide care to those patients experiencing abnormal heart rhythms. Good Shepherd houses three fully equipped catheterization labs.
Society of Chest Pain Centers
Founded in 1998, the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is a non-profit international society dedicated to the belief that heart disease can be eliminated as the number one cause of death worldwide. Because we know that time translates to muscle during a heart emergency, the Society bridges EMS, emergency medicine, cardiology, nursing and other professions jointly focused upon improving timely, quality care for cardiac patients.
In order to disseminate best practices and processes in heart care the Society promotes protocol-based medicine and promotes the adoption of process improvement science by healthcare providers, ideally delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address acute coronary syndrome and acute heart failure.
Good Shepherd Medical Center
Good Shepherd Medical Center is the area's preferred hospital with a strong history and reputation for providing high quality, compassionate medical care. A full service, acute-care 425-bed regional referral center, Good Shepherd operates a Level II Trauma Center, Primary Stroke Center and Longview's only Level IIIa NICU and Chest Pain Center.（中国疼痛网本期编辑：西西）
