St. Luke's - First Hospital in Region to Earn Chest Pain Center Accreditation
St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network is honored to announce the Bethlehem and Allentown Campuses received accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (Allentown 1/6/09, Bethlehem 12/29/08)
To Our Pre-Hospital Community
St. Luke's Hospital & Health Network is proud of the continued relationship with our Pre-Hospital Community. Working together, we treat more than 5,000 chest pain patients each year. We could not have achieved this accreditation without the outstanding work and everyday accomplishments of our local EMS providers. The network remains committed to a strong relationship with EMS providers and looks forward to further partnerships to better serve those in our communities.
“We are gratified that the Society of Chest Pain Centers has recognized St. Luke's commitment to providing area patients with timely, expert evaluation of chest pain-related symptoms. This accreditation is an indicator of the high quality care patients can expect to receive at St. Luke's,” said Melinda Shoemaker, RN, LNC, Director, St. Luke's Chest Pain Center Program.
What is an Accredited Chest Pain Center and why does a hospital seek Accreditation?
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.
According to Marcus Averbach, MD, medical director, St. Luke's Chest Pain Center Program, “The St. Luke's Chest Pain Center follows a protocol driven, systematic approach to patient management that allows physicians to streamline treatment time during the critical stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective and to better monitor patients when it 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 St. Luke's Hospital Allentown and Bethlehem have demonstrated the 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
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC)
The Society of Chest Pain Centers is a patient centric non-profit international professional organization focused upon improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and other 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. To best fulfill this mission, the Society of Chest Pain Centers provides accreditation to facilities striving for optimum Chest Pain Center care. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
For more information on the Society of Chest Pain Centers visit scpcp.org.