Setting Sun
December 11, 2014
Alec Adams
December 11, 2014
TGMC Chest Pain Center earns accreditation
The Chest Pain Center at Terrebonne General Medical Center has been awarded the highest level of accreditation by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care following a recent survey.
The accreditation is two years in the making as TGMC as well as Acadian Ambulance employees teamed up to make it possible.
“We’ve always had a monumentally wonderful cardiac program at Terrebonne General, [the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care has] a lot of stringent guidelines and a lot of stringent things that you have to show good data and good information,” said TGMC President and CEO Phyllis Peoples. “For a period of two years, the team here has been working through that process and we were very proud to be able to get that type of accreditation.”
Those guidelines included integrating the emergency department with the local 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, continually seeking to improve processes and procedures, ensuring Chest Pain Center personnel competency and training, maintaining organizational structure and commitment, having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care and supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.
TGMC earned high marks throughout the process with 98 percent of heart attack patients receiving percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a process which maintain the blood supply so that there’s no damage or extended damage to the heart, within 52 minutes of arrival or less. The national average is 67 minutes.
“It really shows definitely a value to the patient, because the sooner you’re able to get to a chest pain center or an accredited center, the better your chance of survival,” Peoples said.
Part of the process making the life saving process quicker is a collaborative effort with the ambulance service called the LIFENET System. It allows EKG results to be transmitted from Acadian Ambulance directly to TGMC’s Emergency Department, allowing physicians to read the results while the patient is in route. In some cases, patients can go directly into the Cardiac Catherization Lab – saving precious time.
“Receiving this accreditation, educating the community on cardiac care, and improving the lives of our patients, families and friends is what we do at Terrebonne General Medical Center, and I am proud to be a part of this team,” Chest Pain Center Coordinator and Registered Nurse Sam Matherne said.
TGMC was also recognized for its efforts in community prevention, screening, Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) and the benefits of getting help to immediately minimize damage.
