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West Houston Medical Center – First Accredited Chest Pain Center in Texas; Third in the United States

HOUSTON, TX, September 15, 2003 – The Society of Chest Pain Centers and Providers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to West Houston Medical Center, making it the first Chest Pain Center in Texas and the third in the nation to be accredited.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers and Providers 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.

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.

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. The Society’s accreditation process insures centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.

The Chest Pain Center at West Houston Medical Center has demonstrated its 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 of Chest Pain Centers and Providers. Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise 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
• Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
• Insuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training
• Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack

The Society’s site evaluation team found that West Houston Medical Center (WHMC) met, and often exceeded, the criteria needed to be a fully accredited Chest Pain Center. In fact, the emergency department nursing team has one of the best arrival-to-ECG performance times in the country.

The team was also impressed by the long-term commitment of both top administrators and staff to excellence in heart care and their focus on the local community’s healthcare needs through community outreach, education, and women’s health programs.

Based on these strengths and WHMC’s commitment to the integration of emergency services with community-oriented cardiovascular services, the evaluation team recommended full accreditation to the Accreditation Review Committee.

“Our doctors, nurses and technicians have been systematically measuring and improving care for chest pain patients for five years. We are proud of this first in Texas, Chest Pain Center Accreditation, as it symbolizes our ongoing commitment to the best care for our community,” said Jeffrey S. Holland, CEO of West Houston Medical Center.

West Houston Medical Center has, through hard work and commitment, earned the distinction of being the first Accredited Chest Pain Center in Texas and the third in the nation.

About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international professional society focused on improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and related maladies. The Society is committed to improving the quality of patient care through protocol-based medicine and the adoption of process improvement science to healthcare. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit www.scpcp.org.

For more information on West Houston Medical Center, its Accredited Chest Pain Center, or its community outreach programs, contact Jane Lawrence, Public Relations, at 281-588-8164 or jane.lawrence@hcahealthcare.com. For more information, visit www.westhoustonmedical.com.

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