Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point and Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City recently received Chest Pain Center with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, while Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer and Hammond received reaccreditation.
Accredited hospitals have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with heart attack symptoms.
The hospitals undergo a rigorous, onsite evaluation by review specialists, which assures they meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine. They must demonstrate expertise in the following areas:
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system.
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly.
- Effectively treating patients with low risk of acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms.
- Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures.
- Ensuring the competence and training of personnel.
- 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 heart attack symptoms.
Chest Pain Center directors praised their staffs and colleagues for the honors.
“This is the culmination of an excellent collaborative process between the hospitals’ physicians, staff and ancillary services to provide the best care possible for patients experiencing acute coronary syndrome,” said Eric Cook, D.O., of Franciscan St. Margaret Health.
Carl Metcalf, M.D., of Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point, added, “Accreditation is a benefit to Chest Pain Center patients since it assures the kind of quality of care they will receive and puts us on the cutting edge of providing them the best possible treatment.”
Neil Malhotra, M.D., of Franciscan St. Anthony Health Michigan City, called the designation exciting, adding, “I am very impressed with the hard work of the staff. It shows how dedicated we are to providing the best possible care for our patients.”