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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hackensack University Medical Center
Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation

Hackensack, NJ – December 9 - The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to Hackensack University Medical Center, making it the only accredited medical center in northern New Jersey, third in the state of New Jersey, one of four in the New York metropolitan area, and the 77th in the nation.

“This accreditation is a testimony to the work we do at Hackensack University Medical Center. We are the only medical center in northern New Jersey to earn this designation. The services and care we provide are outstanding not only when compared to other institutions within our state, but within the nation,” said Joseph Feldman, M.D., medical director of The Chest Pain Center and chairman of The Emergency Trauma Department at Hackensack University Medical Center.

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 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 Hackensack University 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

“Standards at Hackensack University Medical Center are very high. We are continually moving forward, achieving our goals, and raising the bar above our patients’ expectations. We are passionately committed to providing the best possible patient care,” said John P. Ferguson, president and chief executive officer at Hackensack University Medical Center.

About Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack University Medical Center, a teaching and research hospital affiliated with The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - New Jersey Medical School, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state of New Jersey.

For the third consecutive year, Hackensack University Medical Center has been named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report®. This year the medical center ranks as one of the 50 best hospitals in two specialties. The medical center ranked 49th nationally in geriatric services, and in the top four in the New York metropolitan area. The medical center also ranked 37th nationally in heart and heart surgery, and in the top three in the New York metropolitan area. The medical center is the only New Jersey acute-care hospital to receive rankings in the specialty listings.

HealthGrades®, the national healthcare quality firm honored Hackensack University Medical Center with the 2003 HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence^TM. The award places Hackensack University Medical Center among a group of less than 200 hospitals or 3.4 percent nationally who are at the pinnacle of quality performance across numerous clinical service lines. HealthGrades is the only consumer-oriented, national rating system strictly focused on clinical quality outcomes that rates every hospital in the country.

Also in the fall of 2003, the medical center was recognized for service excellence under the new J.D. Power and Associates Distinguished Hospital Program.^SM This distinction acknowledges a strong commitment from HUMC to provide an outstanding patient experience. The service excellence distinction was determined by surveying a random sample of recently discharged patients from HUMC on their perceptions of their hospital stay and comparing the results to the national benchmark established by The J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Hospital Service Performance Study.^SM The research identified five key drivers of patient satisfaction with their overall hospital experience: dignity and respect, speed and efficiency, comfort, information and communication, and emotional support.

To learn more about Hackensack University Medical Center, please visit its web site at www.humc.com.

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