Chest pain center at PMMC is accredited
After an extensive review process, the chest pain center at PMMC has received national accreditation.
POTTSTOWN » The chest pain center at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center recently received its first chest pain center accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
This distinction follows what hospital officials called an “intense” application process, and is in recognition of the hospital’s “commitment to the highest standards in the country for heart failure care,” according to a press release.
Accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers is different than other accreditation processes. Instead of evaluating whether a hospital is following established criteria, the Society of Chest Pain Centers provides hospitals with evaluation tools to examine current operations and promote continual improvement in cardiac care.
Among the areas examined at PMMC, according to Lowell Fina, chest pain coordinator at the hospital, was community, EMS and employee education about heart attacks and acute coronary symptoms, as well as review and revision of policies, procedures and treatment time goals.
An accredited chest pain center uses an evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care that allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. In addition, accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is
not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event — ensuring patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted, the release stated.
“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” said Dr. Lori Lorant-Tobias, emergency department medical director at PMMC in the release. “As an accredited chest pain center, reducing time to treatment is a critical goal at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. About 85 percent of muscle damage can take place within the first hour of a cardiac event.
“Patients should also know that arriving by ambulance to the emergency department helps to ensure that they will not wait to be seen by a physician. Our connection with emergency medical services will enable the emergency department staff to be ready when cardiac patients arrive,” she added.
As an accredited chest pain center PMMC is linked with other medical specialties, such as the local emergency medical system — relationships that can mean shorter response times, seamless communication among emergency responders and expedited treatment for cardiac patients.
The accreditation also encompasses other facets of the hospital’s heart care program including direct patient care,
clinical education and strategic planning for future program development, according to the release. Onsite reviews of PMMC’s operations and patient care processes will be conducted by a panel of Society of Chest Pain Centers experts.
“Pottstown Memorial Medical Center is committed to making our heart care program the best it can be — and this means pursuing a path of continual improvement: ongoing evaluation of our clinical practices, and investing in the latest tools, techniques and innovations,” said Rich Newell, PMMC CEO. “When the people who live and work in greater Pottstown think about quality heart care, we want them to think of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center.”