News Release
Denton Regional Medical Center Receives
Accreditation As Level II Chest Pain Center
DENTON, TX (May 30, 2008) – Denton Regional has become the first facility in Denton County to earn the prestigious accreditation as a Level II Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC). The SCPC is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to improving the care of patients with acute coronary syndrome.
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 Denton Regional 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
- 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
Caleb O’Rear, DRMC CEO said, “We have committed ourselves to having a world-class cardiovascular program. Becoming accredited as a Level II Chest Pain Center demonstrates to the physicians in our program that our board is willing to support that effort, and to the community, it demonstrates the hospital’s commitment and dedication to providing them with the best possible care.”
This latest accreditation took over a year to complete and was the result of collaboration among hospital employees, administrators, cardiologists, emergency physicians, and local EMS. The community benefits for the hospital’s Level II award are many and include:
- The Hospital purchased special equipment for local EMS entities so they can fax EKGs from the field to the emergency room. This means that when a patient hits the hospital door, the chest pain team can be waiting and available to begin treatment immediately, saving precious minutes that could make the difference between life and death.
- Patients have immediate access to the Cardiac Cath Lab 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- All emergency physicians and cardiologists on staff are board certified and participate in annual continuing education on heart disease and heart attacks.
- Hospital employees receive additional training on how to treat chest pain patients, including a special focus on identifying heart attacks in women, who usually present with atypical symptoms.
- Denton Regional continues to provide free ongoing community education about Emergency Heart Attack Care Giver seminars.
- Physicians, local EMS, and hospital leadership continue to work as a team to ensure patients receive the best care from the moment the ambulance arrives until they leave the hospital.
“Denton Regional performs thousands of complex cardiac procedures each year," said Leslie Beard, MD, Chief of Emergency Services at Denton Regional. “With this type of proven track record, along with our dedicated cardiac team, this designation recognizes that Denton Regional is a proven leader for cardiac care. Our Level II Chest Pain Center is another example of our continued leadership in cardiac care."
About Denton Regional
Denton Regional is a 208 bed, full service hospital that serves the growing population of Denton, Wise, Cooke and Montague Counties. Offering the full-spectrum of healthcare including advanced open-heart surgery and oncology programs, Denton Regional's more than 850 employees and 250 physicians are constantly striving to offer the highest quality service to north Texas.
Denton Regional is part of the HCA North Texas Division Hospitals which includes 12 hospitals and related health-care entities serving North Texas and surrounding areas. To learn more about this hospital and others in the division, visit www.hcahealthcare.com and www.dentonregional.com. For more information, please contact Denton Regional Marketing at 940-384-3251.
;){kind=link}