2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | Home

Press Release

Meriter Hospital -- First Accredited Chest Pain Center in Wisconsin

MADISON , WI – February 13, 2004. The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to Meriter Hospital, making it the first in Wisconsin and one of only 30 in the nation to be accredited.

“It’s more than a fancy label,” says John Herm, M.D., Meriter’s Emergency Services Medical Director. “An organized Chest Pain Center like we have at Meriter helps streamline care for people who are having an actual or impending heart attack. And just as crucial, it helps us focus on people who may have underlying heart disease.

“Chest pain is complicated,” says Herm. “Patients should never question their symptoms. The right thing to do is call 9-1-1. If we determine patients aren’t experiencing a heart attack, we observe them in our unit and perform a series of tests to get the right answer as to why they’re having chest pain.”

Meriter Hospital is to be commended on its organizational structure and commitment,” said Dr. Ezra A. Amsterdam, Director of the Coronary Care Unit, University of California, Davis Medical Center and Accreditation Review Team representative. “The expedited stress testing and the patient’s “Chest Pain Observation Unit” booklet are excellent examples of the commitment and dedication of the personnel.”

“While emergency services is the front door for the Chest Pain Center, this accreditation is a tribute to the entire team, including the physicians, staff and nurses of cardiovascular services, emergency services and the medical imaging department,” says Herm.

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 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 Society’s accreditation process ensures Chest Pain Centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.

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.

The Chest Pain Center at Meriter Hospital 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
• Early Heart Attack Warning Symptoms

Many heart attacks begin slowly with vague symptoms that gradually increase. Sometimes the discomfort is mild with symptoms that come and go. Early heart attack warning symptoms are:

• Central chest discomfort or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
• Discomfort in the back, arm, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath

And any of the following, especially if accompanied with the above symptoms:

• Cold sweats
• Dizziness
• Indigestion
• Nausea

Any person who is experiencing any of these symptoms should call 911. Getting to the hospital quickly so an early diagnosis can be made prevents or minimizes heart damage.

About Meriter Health Services
For more than 100 years, Meriter Hospital, a not-for-profit, 448-bed community hospital, has served patients of all ages and provides care in all major medical and surgical specialties, along with a range of outpatient services. Meriter is home to cardiac and women’s health centers of excellence, and is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. As the area’s original community hospital, Meriter’s primary focus has always been excellent patient-focused care. For more information about the services available at Meriter Hospital, visit http://www.meriter.com.

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 Meriter Hospital, contact Mae Knowles, Media Relations, at (608) 267-5622 or mknowles@meriter.com.

Media Contact

Back to 2004 News Archive