Baptist Health Paducah earns Chest Pain Center reaccreditation
The chest pain center at Baptist Health Paducah has been re-accredited for the fourth consecutive cycle, showing it continues to meet the highest national standards for treating heart attacks.
The chest pain center at Baptist Health Paducah has been re-accredited for the fourth consecutive cycle, showing it continues to meet the highest national standards for treating heart attacks.
It was recently named a Version 5 full Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) accreditation from the American College of Cardiology. The hospital was the region’s first accredited chest pain center in 2008 and has maintained high standards for re-accreditation three times since then.
The three-year accreditation recognizes the efficiency of Baptist Health Paducah staff in treating chest pain. PCI, also known as angioplasty, is a stent procedure used to open clogged arteries.
This recognition identifies the entire hospital as a chest pain center, where all staff, including the Emergency department, can care for chest pain patients and offer them immediate treatment, according to Baptist Chest Pain Coordinator Trish Edwards, RN.
“Meeting these high national standards in heart attack care assures the community they can get the very best expert heart care here, close to home,” said William A. Brown, hospital president. “Since offering the first open-heart surgery here in 1985, our hospital has traditionally set the bar in heart care, and we continue to offer the best and most innovative treatments available for heart disease.”
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the U.S., with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. ACC’s goal is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
Edwards said community outreach is part of the accreditation process to educate people about Early Heart Attack Care or EHAC. The chest pain team at Baptist continually “deputizes” volunteers inside the hospital and in the community who could recognize heart attack symptoms and pledged to call for immediate help.
“These EHAC deputies in our community are educated and have pledged to call 9-1-1 with any sign or symptom of a heart attack,” Edwards said. “Community outreach is important since recognizing the early signs and symptoms of a heart attack and performing Hands-Only CPR, when necessary, could save a life. We work with EMS throughout the area to transmit EKGs from the ambulance to the Emergency department, so our cath lab, team of cardiologists and Emergency department staff can treat you immediately upon arrival.”
For more information, phone the Chest Pain & Stroke Hotline at 1.800.575.1911 for more info on heart attack symptoms.