Baptist Health Paducah one of only 33 U.S. hospitals to attain highest ACC honor
Carson-Myre Heart Center was recently awarded three prestigious honors
(Paducah, Ky.) Feb. 15, 2021 — Baptist Health Paducah’sCarson-Myre Heart Center was recently awarded three prestigious honors from the American College of Cardiology: HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence, Transcatheter Valve Certification, and Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI.
Baptist Health Paducah is the only hospital in the region to earn all three honors.
HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence
The HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence is the highest honor the ACC awards. Baptist Health Paducah is one of only 33 hospitals nationwide to be recognized for demonstrating a commitment to comprehensive, high-quality culture and cardiovascular care through comprehensive process improvement, disease and procedure-specific accreditation, professional excellence, and community engagement.
“This honor is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our physicians and the entire cardiovascular team,” said Craig Beavers, director of cardiovascular services. “Baptist Health Paducah has always been the heart care leader of the region, and we continue to be committed to providing the highest quality cardiovascular care.”
Transcatheter Valve Certification
For demonstrating expertise and commitment in treating patients receiving transcatheter valve repair and replacement procedures, Baptist Health Paducah received the Transcatheter Valve Certification based on evaluation of the staff’s ability to meet standards for multidisciplinary teams, formalized training, shared decision-making and registry performance.
Baptist Health Paducah is not only the first hospital in the region to receive this award, but also only the third hospital in the state.
The Baptist Health Paducah heart team performed the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure in western Kentucky in October 2019. TAVR is an innovative new procedure for cardiac patients that offers a minimally invasive alternative to traditional open-heart surgery. The procedure uses a catheter to replace a failing heart valve, making it much less invasive than open-heart operations.
Last fall, cardiothoracic surgeon Austin Ward, MD, led the heart team in performing the area’s first TAVR procedure through the carotid artery. Most TAVR procedures replace failing heart valves through an insertion in the groin.
Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI
The hospital earned Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients who come to a cardiac cath lab for care, including diagnostic catheterizations and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures.
Percutaneous coronary intervention, also known as coronary angioplasty, is a non-surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked coronary arteries with a balloon to relieve symptoms of heart disease or reduce heart damage during or after a heart attack.
“Achieving this accreditation was a tremendous effort made by our entire team,” said Elisha Richardson, Nursing Manager of the Carson-Myre Heart Center. “We provide evidenced based world-class heart and vascular services right here in the Purchase region. I’m incredibly proud of our organization and team. This achievement speaks to the quality of not only the Cath Lab, but also the cardiovascular service line as a whole. Our communities have been and will continue to benefit from this effort.”
Hospitals that have proven exceptional competency in treating patients who require cardiac catheterization have standardized their assessment process for patients before undergoing catheterization to ensure quality and patient safety. They ensure that care in the procedure room for sedation, infection control, radiation safety, universal protocol, and time out procedures is fully coordinated; and have mastered the appropriate transfer to a cath recovery unit to better monitor and track complications, enhance physician-to-patient communication, patient family communication, discharge instructions and follow-up information.