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Dasher Chest Pain Center at SGMC
First Accredited Chest Pain Facility in Georgia

Valdosta, GA – November 11. South Georgia Medical Center’s Dasher Memorial Heart Center has received national accreditation for its Chest Pain Center. The accreditation, which was awarded by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, makes SGMC’s Chest Pain Center the first accredited center in Georgia and the 73rd accredited center in the nation.

“Our affiliated physicians and staff have worked tirelessly to develop our Chest Pain Center into a premier program for the early detection and treatment of heart attacks,” said George Hardy, assistant administrator for Ancillary Services at SGMC. “Being the only accredited Chest Pain Center in the state confirms the progressiveness of our heart program and it confirms our commitment and dedication to quality patient care.”

Hospital CEO James McGahee applauded the hard work of the departments involved in this recognition. “This was no small accomplishment,” McGahee said. “This effort required a seamless continuum of care involving EMS, the Emergency Department, Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Medical Imaging (X-ray) and our Laboratory. With heart attacks, precious seconds count. I am very pleased to add this accreditation to the list of community benefits at SGMC.”

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.

Signs and symptoms of heart attacks frequently include uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes. Pain may be mild to intense, spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms. It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning, or heavy weight. Pain may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw, or inside the arms or shoulders. Other symptoms include chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath and anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.

“We urge individuals to call 911 immediately if they experience any of these symptoms,” Hardy concluded. “Even if you are treated for chest pain and determined to be at low risk for coronary artery disease, with proper education, heart problems can be managed with things such as diet and exercise so you won’t become high risk.”

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 South Georgia 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. 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
• Ensuring 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 Dasher Memorial Heart Center
Since the establishment of the Dasher Memorial Heart Center in November 2001, SGMC has worked to develop the program into one of regional significance. SGMC is a 335-bed regional referral center serving a population of 350,000 in the South Georgia vicinity. We are the only open heart surgery center within a 90-mile radius of Valdosta. For more information about Dasher Memorial Heart Center, contact SGMC’s Community Relations office at 229-259-4420.

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