(Henderson, Nev.; September 7, 2011) – St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-Siena Campus announces that it has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their efforts to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.
Hospitals that receive SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance 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. They also serve as a point of entry into the health care system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.
“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” stated Rod Davis, president and CEO of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and senior vice president of operations, CHW Nevada. “The average patient arrives in the emergency department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they don't realize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient.”
To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, the Siena Campus engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the community served by the Siena Campus, this means that processes are in place that meet strict criteria aimed at:
- 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
St. Rose Dominican Hospitals-Siena Campus’ state-of-the-art health care encompasses the entire continuum of care for heart patients and includes such focal points as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, non-invasive cardiology, cardiac catheterization laboratories, conventional and minimally invasive cardiac surgery, cardiac rehab, St. Rose’s quality assurance plan and community outreach programs. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, the Siena Campus has enhanced the quality of care for our cardiac patients and demonstrated our commitment to higher standards.
