Chest Pain Center
In October 2004, the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) awarded Chest Pain Center Accreditation to The Medical Center of Plano. The Medical Center of Plano was the first hospital in Collin County to earn this designation, and among just 71 hospitals nationwide to be accredited by the SCPC.
Continuing their legacy of firsts, The Medical Center of Plano was awarded Chest Pain Center Cycle III Accreditation with PCI in September 2009.
The Medical Center of Plano undertook a rigorous re-evaluation and refinement of heart care processes in order to integrate the industry’s best practices and newest paradigms into its cardiac care services. The Medical Center of Plano state-of-the-art heart care works seamlessly with area medical emergency medical services and other hospital departments to ensure that patients get the treatment they need during the critical early stages of a heart attack. This new accreditation places The Medical Center of Plano at the highest designation granted by the Chest Pain Society: the first hospital in Collin County and the third hospital in the metroplex to achieve this status.
"To achieve this accreditation The Medical Center of Plano has developed a sophisticated partnership between the Emergency Department, the Cardiology Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) with a systematic approach to patient management," said Michele Hamilton, RN, Director of Cardiovascular and Emergency Services. "This coordinated response 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."
The Accredited Chest Pain Center at The Medical Center of Plano 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
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.
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
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 www.scpcp.org.