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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Menorah Medical Center
Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation

OVERLAND PARK, KS - The Society of Chest Pain Centers has granted the designation of Accredited Chest Pain Center to Menorah Medical Center for receiving full accreditation from the Accreditation Review Committee on March 17, 2005. Menorah Medical Center is the 4th accredited Chest Pain Center in Kansas and the 107th in the nation.

Susan Malick, Chief Nursing Officer at Menorah Medical Center, says that Menorah’s recent accreditation sends a clear message to the community that we are committed to providing a high level of cardiac care. “Our Emergency Department staff quickly assesses and treats patients with chest pain to achieve the best possible outcomes – we believe this is a significant resource for our patients and the community.”

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 Menorah 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 Menorah Medical Center Menorah Medical Center, located at 119th Street & Nall in Overland Park, Kansas, offers a complete range of medical care to all people, regardless of faith, race, sex, or background. Our services, among others, include surgery, heart care, women’s services, cancer care – including the revolutionary new CyberKnife® System, emergency services, intensive care, rehabilitation, and a comprehensive range of outpatient services. If you would like more information about Menorah Medical Center, call 913-498-6000 or you may visit us on-line at www.menorahmedicalcenter.com.

HCA Midwest Division operates 12 hospitals in the Kansas City metropolitan area including Allen County Hospital, Menorah Medical Center, and Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Kansas; and Baptist-Lutheran Medical Center, Cass Medical Center, Independence Regional Health Center, Lafayette Regional Health Center, Lee's Summit Hospital, Medical Center of Independence, Research Belton Hospital, Research Medical Center, and Research Psychiatric Center in Missouri. Nashville-based HCA (NYSE: HCA) formalized its $1.13 billion acquisition of Kansas City's Health Midwest network of hospitals in April 2003. You may visit us on-line at www.HCAMidwest.com.

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