Baptist Health Paducah one of only 43 U.S. hospitals to attain highest ACC honor
Baptist Health Paducah is one of 3 hospitals in Kentucky to earn the distinction.
(Paducah, Ky.) Jan. 7, 2021 — Baptist Health Paducah’s Carson-Myre Heart Center was recently awarded the prestigious distinction from the American College of Cardiology as HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence for 2022. Baptist Health Paducah was first recognized for this award in 2021. Baptist Health Paducah is one of 3 hospitals in Kentucky, the only hospital in our region, and one of only 43 in the nation, to earn the distinction as HeartCARE Center National Distinction of Excellence.
This prestigious honor is in addition to Baptist Health Paducah’s Carson-Myre Heart Center current accreditations for Chest Pain Center and Cardiac Cath Lab Center, along with a certification in Transcatheter Valve. Baptist Health Paducah’s commitment to the treatment of heart attack patients is further solidified by its recognition as a Platinum Chest Pain-MI Registry Performance Achievement Award recipient.
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 43 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 continued dedication and hard work of our physicians and the entire cardiovascular team,” said Craig Beavers, vice president of operations. “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.”
Chest Pain Center
Chest Pain Center accredited hospitals have achieved a higher level of expertise when dealing with patients who arrive with the symptoms of a heart attack. Accreditation improves the clinical process for the early assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.
As an Accredited Chest Pain Center, the hospital enhances coordination among all providers involved in the patient’s care and establish and evidence-based standard of care for patients with heart disease, no matter where they present within the hospital.
This accreditation offers long-term benefits to the hospital, including adopting and ongoing reviews of procedures to identify operational efficiencies as a patient care team.
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.
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.
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.
These accreditations and certifications demonstrate the commitment of the Baptist Health Paducah’s Carson-Myre Heart Center as a top provider of quality health care and a resource for the community about heart disease.
Platinum Chest Pain-MI Registry Performance Achievement Award
The Platinum Chest Pain-MI Registry Performance Achievement Award recognizes the hospital for demonstrating sustained, top level performance in quality of care and adherence to guideline recommendations. Through the hospital’s robust quality improvement process and participation in the registry, data is utilized to drive improvements and positively impact patient outcomes for heart attack patients.