FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 06, 2009

NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Geoffrey Roche
Community Relations Coordinator
Phone (570) 476-3767
Fax (570) 420-2537
Email: groche@pmchealthsystem.org

Pocono Medical Center Achieves Chest Pain Center with PCI Accreditation

On June 22, 2009, the Society of Chest Pain Centers awarded Pocono Medical Center (PMC) a three-year accreditation as a Chest Pain Center with Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI).  PMC is one of only ten hospitals in Pennsylvania to receive this designation, which is earned by a select number of hospitals for providing rapid assessment and effective treatment, including PCI, for patients who present with chest pain symptoms.

“Each year, more than 5 million Americans arrive at hospitals with chest pain.  Timing is absolutely critical for these patients.  Every second that passes without treatment could mean the difference between life and death,” said Kathleen E. Kuck, President/CEO of Pocono Health System/Pocono Medical Center. “As an accredited Chest Pain Center, PMC has demonstrated excellence in treating such patients quickly and effectively.  It also reflects our ongoing commitment to providing the best possible care, close to home.”

Chest pain treatment at PMC typically begins in the Emergency Room and can include other services areas, such as the Rapid Treatment Center, cardiac catheterization lab, or cardiac surgery. Having a systematic, multidisciplinary approach to patient care enables PMC to accurately monitor patients to determine if they are in fact having a coronary event, thus ensuring that patients are neither admitted nor discharged unnecessarily.  It also allows them to reduce treatment times during the early signs of a heart attack, when treatment is most crucial.  In fact, PMC has one of the fastest “door-to-balloon” times in the nation (i.e., the time between a patient’s arrival at the hospital and the time they receive interventional cardiac care).

To become an accredited Chest Pain Center, PMC had to complete on-site evaluations with a review team from the Society of Chest Pain Centers.  They also had to meet a stringent set of criteria, demonstrating that they meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.  Other key areas in which Chest Pain Centers must demonstrate expertise include the following:

• 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 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. 

For more information on the Society of Chest Pain Centers visit www.scpcp.org, or contact Robert Lipetz, Executive Director at (614) 442-5950 or director@scpcp.org.

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