Franciscan St. Margaret Health – Dyer Earns Chest Pain Center Reaccreditation

Chest-Pain-CenterFranciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer recently received Chest Pain Center reaccreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

Hospitals that have received accreditation (Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Hammond also has the designation and expects to be reaccredited later this year) have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack.

To earn reaccreditation, Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer engaged in rigorous evaluation for its ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the community, this means that processes are in place that meet strict criteria aimed at:

  • Reducing the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment.
  • Treating patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved.
  • Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital.

 

Tom Gryzbek, Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer and Hammond president, was pleased with the latest accomplishment.

We are very proud of our physicians and hospital staff in once again achieving this wonderful recognition and in being able to provide this level of quality care for our patients,” he said.

Added, Renne Pfister R.N., Dyer campus chest pain center coordinator, “In order for us to achieve accreditation and reaccreditation, it takes a strong collaborative team effort by all -- EMS, Emergency Department, and Cath Lab STEMI team. The Schererville Fire Department and the dispatch team also were instrumental in our reaccreditation process, as were our cardiologists.”

She advises patients to immediately seek treatment when experiencing symptoms, noting that many arrive in emergency departments more than two hours after the onset. The sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage there will be to the heart, Pfister added.

For more information on the accreditation and certification processes, visit www.scpcp.org.

Heart Attack Warning Signs

According to the American Heart Association, symptoms include:

  • Chest discomfort/discomfort in other areas of the body.
  • Shortness of breath.
  • Breaking out in a cold sweat.
  • Nausea.
  • Lightheadedness.