CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, has received Chest Pain Center reaccreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) — an organization that assists facilities in improving cardiac care processes. Hospitals that receive the SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack.
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. SCPC’s goal 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.
CentraState earned Chest Pain Center reaccreditation after a rigorous review by the SCPC and demonstrating its implementation of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms.
SCPC-accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event. Such monitoring ensures patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.
By achieving SCPC’s Chest Pain Center Accreditation status, CentraState Medical Center demonstrates expertise in the following areas:
• integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
- assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly
- effectively treating patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
- continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
- ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel
- maintaining organizational structure and commitment
- constructing 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. The program called Early Heart Attack Care educates on preventing heart attacks by recognizing early signs and symptoms. Join in spreading the message that heart attacks have beginnings at deputyheartattack.org.
CentraState’s emergency department is equipped with internet-based technology to speed up treatment for heart attack patients. The Physio-Control LIFENET System allows the emergency department to receive essential clinical information about a patient’s condition while the patient is en route to the ED in a MONOC ambulance equipped with the system. The patient’s cardiogram (EKG) and vital signs are transmitted to the ED electronically so a team of healthcare professionals, including a cardiologist, can view, evaluate and start planning the patient’s care even before the patient arrives. CentraState was the first hospital in Monmouth and Ocean Counties to implement this service.
For more information about CentraState’s Emergency Department, Stroke Center or Cardiology Services, call 866-CENTRA7 (866-236-8727) or visit centrastate.com.