A National Best Practices Model for Chest Pain Treatment.
Treatment at the internationally accredited Chest Pain Center at Baptist Beaches could mean the difference between life and death for a patient experiencing a heart attack. A national study by Emory University showed that accredited Chest Pain Centers achieve better patient outcomes as compared to non-accredited hospitals.
Baptist Beaches is one of the few hospitals in Jacksonville to be nationally accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, which means we have the expertise to quickly diagnose and treat chest pain and, if we can act within the first 70 minutes of diagnosis (the “Golden Hour”), affect a higher likelihood of full recovery from a heart attack. The Chest Pain Center model is based on a pioneering approach that combines the best of emergency care and cardiology practices, and espouses a 70-minute “ER-to-Procedure” protocol. Speed – and precision – mean everything when it comes to saving healthy heart muscle.
Chest Pain Centers are hospital emergency centers which offer rapid diagnosis and treatment of chest pain by a specially trained team of experts, 24 hours a day. To become an accredited Chest Pain Center, a facility must demonstrate expertise in several areas, including:
- Integrating the emergency departments with the local Emergency Medical System
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly
- Educating the community to promptly seek medical care for heart attack symptoms
Patients brought in to the Chest Pain Center who are deemed at low or intermediate risk for a heart attack are evaluated over eight hours. If tests during that time are negative, the patient may be discharged or given additional diagnostic tests.
In some cases, cardiologists at the Baptist Beaches Chest Pain Center may spot early signs of heart disease and put patients on a treatment path that can help reduce their risk for developing more serious heart problems. In other cases, cardiologists may determine that another problem--not heart disease--is responsible for chest pain, and they can recommend appropriate treatment.
Baptist Beaches’ accredited Chest pain Center has achieved all of these milestones and has literally saved lives in our community. Please read Beaches resident Peter Ghiloni’s story to understand this first-hand.
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