HackensackUMC Achieves New Status as Accredited Chest Pain Center
November 4, 2011 11:17 AM
Hackensack University Medical Center announces that it has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation for Full Cycle III Accreditation with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), 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 effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.
Hospitals that have received 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 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.
To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, HackensackUMC 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 HackensackUMC 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 they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital
“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” states Joseph Feldman, M.D., chairman, Emergency Medicine and medical director of Chest Pain Center at HackensackUMC. “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.”
HackensackUMC’s state-of-the-art healthcare encompasses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient and includes such focal points as Dispatch, Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Department, Catheterization Lab, Cardiac Surgical Services, Cardiac Rehabilitation, Quality Assurance Plan and Community Outreach Program. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, HackensackUMC has enhanced the quality of care for the cardiac patient and has demonstrated its commitment to higher standards.
About Hackensack University Medical Center
HackensackUMC is a 775-bed not-for-profit, tertiary care, teaching and research hospital and provides the largest number of admissions in New Jersey. Founded in 1888 with 12 beds and as Bergen County's first hospital, HackensackUMC has demonstrated more than a century of growth and progress. HackensackUMC is a nationally recognized healthcare organization offering patients the most comprehensive services, state-of-the-art technologies, and facilities. Honors include being named one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals by HealthGrades® for five years in a row, and for 2010-11 was recognized nationally for excellence in Emergency Medicine. HackensackUMC is the only hospital in New Jersey, New York, and New England to receive this honor for five consecutive years. HackensackUMC was also named one of the 50 Best Hospitals in America by Becker's Hospital Review. U.S. News & World Report ranked HackensackUMC eighth in the New York Metro Area in its first-ever Best Hospitals metro area rankings, giving it the top ranking out of all the New Jersey hospitals listed. Additionally, HackensackUMC has been ranked in geriatrics, heart and heart surgery, and cancer in U.S. News & World Report's 2011-12 Best Hospitals. The U.S. News Media Group also named the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital to its “2011-12 Best Children’s Hospitals” list – ranking as one of the top 50 in the specialty of neurology and neurosurgery – the first hospital in the State of New Jersey ever to be ranked in a Best Children’s Hospitals specialty. HackensackUMC is a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence, first in New Jersey, second in the nation, receiving its fourth designation in April 2009. HackensackUMC is the hometown hospital of the New York Giants and the New Jersey Nets.
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international not-for-profit organization whose mission is to transform cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only cross-specialty Society, SCPC provides the support needed for hospital systems to effectively bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education and support necessary to successfully navigate the changing face of healthcare. For more information on SCPC, accreditation and certification opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.
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