Heart of Lancaster Achieves New Status as Accredited Chest Pain Center
April 20, 2011
Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center (HLRMC) and sister facility Lancaster Regional Medical Center (LRMC) announced that they have both received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international organization dedicated to eliminating heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide.
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. This includes providing standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as providing 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 health care 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, HLRMC and LRMC engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for their ability to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the community served by HRLMC and LRMC, 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 that 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 Bob Moore, Lancaster Regional Medical Center CEO. “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.”
HLRMC’s and LRMC’s state-of-the-art health care encompasses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, HLRMC and LRMC have enhanced the quality of care for the cardiac patient and have demonstrated their commitment to higher standards.
“Our facilities are committed to improving the health of our community. This accreditation clearly demonstrates our commitment to and our expertise in delivering quality patient care,” said Karen Metz, Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center CEO.
About Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center
Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center is a 144-bed hospital that is staffed with caring and respectful health professionals. Heart of Lancaster offers a choice of the county’s top physicians, beautifully appointed patient rooms, state-of-the-art technology in a patient-friendly and stress-free environment. For more information, visit www.heartoflancaster.com.
About Lancaster Regional Medical Center
As one of the first hospitals in the county, Lancaster Regional Medical Center (LRMC) has been dedicated to providing patients with personal and compassionate care for over 122 years. With 214 licensed beds and more than 400 physicians, offers a fully comprehensive range of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical services. For more information, visit www.lancasterregional.com.
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
Established in 1998, SCPC is a patient-centric nonprofit international organization focused on improving care for patients with heart disease. Central to SCPC’s mission is the question, “What is right for the patient?” In response, SCPC promotes protocol-based medicine, often delivered through a chest pain center model, to address the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndrome and heart failure and to promote the adoption of process improvement science by health care providers. To best fulfill this mission, SCPC provides accreditation and education to facilities striving for optimum cardiac care. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on SCPC and accreditation opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.
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