Southern Hills AGAIN earns accreditation for cardiac care

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2006–The Society of Chest Pain Centers has again designated Southern Hills Medical Center, part of TriStar Health System®, an accredited chest pain center. Southern Hills was the first hospital in Middle Tennessee to earn chest pain accreditation, first earning the distinction in 2003.  

“The staff and physicians at Southern Hills Medical Center are completely committed to providing the highest quality patient care available in this market,” said Victor E. Giovanetti, chief executive officer at Southern Hills. “That commitment is evidenced by our leadership in key quality benchmarks such as chest pain accreditation and the recent recognition of Southern Hills as one of the 100 best acute care hospitals in the nation and our ranking as No. 1 for heart attack care in Nashville.”

Giovanetti said that these accomplishments mean better care for the residents of Southern Davidson, Brentwood and Nolensville, Southern Hills’ primary service areas.

“When you have an emergency, life-threatening health event, it really comes down to going to the hospital that provides the very best care for every patient, every time. It’s important for our patients to know that the best hospital is also the closest,” he said.

To become an accredited chest pain center, hospitals must meet or exceed established criteria, confirmed by on-site evaluations by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Criteria 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 recognizable cause for their symptoms

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States; 600,000 people a year die from heart disease. More than 5 million Americans with chest pain visit hospitals each year. According to the American Heart Association, heart attack patients have a 37 percent greater chance of survival when treated at an accredited chest pain center.

"On average, a patient arrives at the hospital more than two hours after first noticing symptoms," said Greta Woodall, RN, emergency department director at Southern Hills. "The crucial timeframe for receiving treatment is within 90 minutes of the onset of symptoms."

The primary goal of a chest pain center is to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes for patients experiencing symptoms of a heart attack to see a physician in order to receive care during the window of time in which treatments are most effective.

TriStar Health System’s other accredited chest pain centers include: Greenview Regional Hospital, Summit Medical Center, Horizon Medical Center and StoneCrest Medical Center. TriStar’s Centennial Medical Center, Hendersonville Medical Center and Skyline Medical Center® are accredited chest pain centers with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a treatment that unblocks narrowed coronary arteries without performing surgery. 

The Society of Chest Pain Centers is a Columbus, Ohio-based 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. The organization strives to reduce mortality rates by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to get treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

TriStar Health System’s 10 hospitals comprise the most comprehensive healthcare network in Middle Tennessee and South Central Kentucky and the area’s only network of chest pain centers accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers and Providers. For more information or for a physician referral, call TriStar MedLineSM at (615) 342-1919, (800) 242-5662 or visit TriStarHealth.com.