Lakeland Regional Medical Center Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation
Lakeland Regional Medical Center has received full Cycle III accreditation with Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) from the Accreditation Review Committee of the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The accreditation is valid through March 2013.
With the rise of Chest Pain Centers came the need to establish standards designed to improve the consistency and quality of care provided to patients. This recognition demonstrates the hospital’s expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from the Society.
The Chest Pain Center’s protocol driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
LRMC’s Chest Pain Center is overseen by Director Dr. John G. Canto, Watson Clinic and Coordinator Wendi Romano, RN. Also instrumental in achieving this recognition for LRMC are Marge Keck, RN, Director of the Emergency Department; Dr. James Melton, Emergency Department Medical Director; and the staff and physicians in the Emergency Department, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Cardiac Units and Cardiac Rehabilitation. LRMC was the first in the area to receive Cycle II accreditation in 2007 and is currently the only in the area to achieve Cycle II accreditation.
“LRMC is committed to delivering exceptional healthcare through evidence-based practices. As one of a small number of chest pain centers around the country accredited by the Society, we are clearly delivering on that mission, “ said Dr. Canto, Chest Pain Center Director. “Making sure each cardiac patient receives the most appropriate care is a collaborative effort that involves many different caregivers. Beginning with pre-hospital providers who make the initial assessments, continuing on to the Emergency Department, Cardiac Cath Lab and through to our inpatient units and Cardiac Rehabilitation, all of these must work seamlessly together for our patients. We are so thankful for the dedication and commitment of each member of the team who helped us achieve this accreditation once again.”
Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise in order to achieve this accreditation include:
- 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 Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training
- 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
About the Chest Pain Center at LRMC
Lakeland Regional Medical Center has been Polk County’s leader in cardiovascular and thoracic care for over 40 years, since the first open-heart surgery in the area was performed. It strives to provide excellent and aggressive cardiac care using evidence-based practices and is committed to bringing state-of-the-art procedures to the area. LRMC performs more open-heart surgeries than any other provider, and its cardiac surgeons have even pioneered a less traumatic “beating heart” bypass surgery. To learn more visit www.lrmc.com
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC)
The Society of Chest Pain Centers is a patient centric non-profit international professional organization focused upon improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and other related maladies. Established in 1998, the Society is dedicated to patient advocacy and focusing on ischemic heart disease. Central to its mission is the question, “What is right for the patient?” In answer, the Society promotes protocol based medicine, often delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, and to promote the adoption of process improvement science by healthcare providers. To best fulfill this mission, the Society of Chest Pain Centers provides accreditation to facilities striving for optimum Chest Pain Center care. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.