Methodist Achieves New Status as Accredited Chest Pain Center

OMAHA - Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital have further solidified their position as leaders in cardiac care after recently earning Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC).

The SCPC is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that brings together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

“To have earned this accreditation was a big undertaking by the cardiac teams at both Methodist Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital,” said Karen Tesina, service executive for cardiology at Methodist Hospital. “It certainly confirmed what we knew – meaning Methodist Health System does an outstanding job with cardiac care.”

Hospitals that have received SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms.

They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Methodist Health System engaged in rigorous evaluation by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To the community served by both hospitals this means that processes are in place which 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
   

"People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” said Katie Triplett, MSN, APRN, Methodist Health System cardiovascular service line nurse practitioner. “The average patient arrives in the emergency department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they don’t realize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient.”

At Methodist Health System our team approach to addressing heart disease is a leader in providing state-of-the-art cardiovascular care, diagnosis and treatment. 

Recognized by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, our teams work together to save lives and improve health. It's where innovation meets compassion. 

Anchored by cardiologists, our teams include:

• Interventional Radiologists
• ED Physicians
• ED Nurses
• Cardiothoracic Surgeons
• Cardiac Nurses
• Pharmacists
• Respiratory Therapists
• Social Workers
• Nutritionists
• Speech Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• Pathologists