Chestnut Hill Hospital is Accredited Chest Pain Center
Chestnut Hill Hospital is Accredited Chest Pain Center
Philadelphia, PA -- Chestnut Hill Hospital recently received full accreditation status from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) demonstrating its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and undergoing an onsite review by a team of specialists.
“We are pleased with the recognition from the SCPC as an accredited center,” says Stephen Spencer, MD, medical director, Emergency Department at Chestnut Hill Hospital. “Chest pain is one of the primary reasons people from our community come to the ER. This designation supports our commitment to a protocol-driven, systematic approach to the chest pain patient that allows ER physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective. It also includes the appropriate way to observe and monitor patients when it is not clear whether or not they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that patients are neither sent home too early, nor needlessly admitted.”
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with the complaint of chest pain. The Chestnut Hill Hospital staff is active in the community, teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack.
“Patient education is a big part of our commitment to care,” says Crystal Glodek, RN, BSN, chest pain coordinator. “We are in the community many weekends and evenings teaching people about heart disease. In many cases heart disease can be minimized with healthy life-style choices. Most importantly, however, is for people to know that if they are experiencing symptoms of a heart attack they need to get help immediately.”
The Chest Pain Center at Chestnut Hill Hospital has key areas in which an Accredited Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise and include the following:
- 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 the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center 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 symptoms of a possible heart attack
In addition to its new Chest Pain Accreditation, Chestnut Hill Hospital is a Primary Stroke Center, a member of Jefferson Neuroscience Network and uses Penn Heart Rescue to transport patients to Penn Presbyterian when necessary. For more information on SCPC, accreditation visit www.scpcp.org.
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Chestnut Hill Hospital (CHH) is a community-based, university-affiliated, teaching hospital committed to excellent patient-centered care. CHH provides a full range of inpatient and outpatient, diagnostic and treatment services for our neighbors in northwest Philadelphia and eastern Montgomery County. More than 300 board-certified physicians comprise the medical staff and support medical specialties including minimally invasive laparoscopic and robotic surgery, cardiology, gynecology, oncology, orthopedics, urology, family practice and internal medicine. Our comprehensive services include primary care practices, two women’s centers and an off-site physical therapy center. CHH is affiliated with university-hospitals in Philadelphia for heart, stroke and cancer care, as well as our hospitalist and residency programs. Chestnut Hill has 130-beds and is accredited by the Joint Commission.