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Press Release
Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston - First Accredited Chest Pain Center in Illinois
EVANSTON, IL – January 23, 2004. The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston, making it the first in Illinois and the 13th in the nation to be accredited.
“The honor of being recognized as the first Chest Pain Center in the state of Illinois—and one of only a few in the United States--demonstrates once again the premier caliber of services we provide at Saint Francis Hospital. This accreditation affirms that we are committed to offering our patients the most efficient and effective level of care for the treatment of chest pain and coronary disease,” said Shahriar Dadkhah, M.D., Medical Director, Chest Pain Center, Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston.
“The goal of our Chest Pain Center is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of patients suffering with chest pain 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,” explained William Maloney, M.D., Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston.
“The Emergency Department is often the community’s initial access to a healthcare facility. The nurses and physicians of Saint Francis Hospital’s emergency department have demonstrated a substantial long-term commitment to excellence in emergency heart care. They are to be congratulated for their role in making Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston the First Accredited Chest Pain Center in Illinois,” said Dr. Anthony Joseph, president of the Society of Chest Pain Centers.
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 is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by encouraging the adoption of the Chest Pain Center model by community hospitals.
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 Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston 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. 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
About Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston
Founded in 1901, Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston is a 367-bed, full-service health care facility and a recognized leader in cardiac and emergency trauma services. Saint Francis Hospital also offers comprehensive diagnostic and treatment services in virtually every medical specialty including neurology, oncology, orthopedics and radiological imaging. Saint Francis Hospital is part of Resurrection Health Care, Chicago’s largest Catholic health care system, including hospitals, nursing homes, retirement communities, a surgery center, behavioral health services, a home health company, hospice services and outpatient and medical office facilities. For more information, visit www.reshealth.org.
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 Saint Francis Hospital of Evanston, contact Christine Rybicki, Director, Public Relations, at 847.316.4159 or crybicki@reshealthcare.org.
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