Teche Regional Medical Center achieves new status

Teche Regional Medical Center has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, according to a Teche Regional news release. The Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.
Hospitals that have received SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack, the news release stated. Accredited hospitals emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.
To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Teche Regional Medical Center engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack, the release notes. Teche Regional said it meet strict criteria aimed at:
—Reducing the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment.
—Treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved.
—Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital.
“We are very proud to have earned Chest Pain Center Accreditation and give thanks to our committed clinical team and the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, who have been working collaboratively to ensure our hospital is prepared to provide high quality care to patients in their most critical time of need,” said Butch Frazier, Teche Regional Medical Center chief executive officer. “Teche Regional’s top priority is to provide quality healthcare close to home, and this accomplishment demonstrates one of the many ways we continually work to enhance and improve our service.”
Teche Regional Medical Center addresses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient, including areas such as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, cath lab, quality assurance plan and Teche Regional’s community outreach program, the news release stated.
Part of LifePoint Hospitals, Teche Regional Medical Center is one of 23 of the system’s hospitals that have achieved SCPC accreditation in 2014 as part of a company-wide commitment to enhancing quality and ensuring excellent service and care in the emergency department.
“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” said Frazier. “The average patient arrives in the emergency department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they don’t realize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient. With our new accreditation, we hope to bring more attention to this and help even more people in our community.”
February is American Heart Month and Friday is National Wear Red Day, all sponsored by the American Heart Association.