Lane Regional Medical Center Receives Cycle IV Chest Pain Center Accreditation

Members of the Cardiovascular Care Committee at Lane Regional Medical Center celebrate receiving Cycle IV Chest Pain Center Accreditation.Pictured L-R:  Julie McLin, David Broussard, Cheryl Catello, Dr. Charles Thompson, Amy Rome, Heather Buhler, Randy Olson, Laura Peel, Eric Rome, Billy Conerly, Courtney Day, Rob Lawrence, Teresa Whetstone, Mike Hlavac, Cristy Walker, Rachelle Nolan, and Dr. Deepak Thekkoott. (Not pictured: Allison Bennett, Clint Braud, Brittany Casey,  Lynn Clement, Jennifer Johnson, Amy Lea and Karla Miller)

    Lane Regional Medical Center has earned full accreditation with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC).
    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 programs that provide more rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms.
    “People tend to wait when they think they may be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” says Laura Peel, Director of Lane Cardiovascular Center. “The average patient arrives in the ER 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 outcome for the patient.”
    To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Lane Regional Medical Center engaged in a rigorous evaluation by SCPC for its ability to assess, diagnose, and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. 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
    The team at Lane Regional Medical Center earns high marks with 100% of acute myocardial infarction patients receiving PCI treatment with a door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes or less (the national average), with the majority of cases being done within the 60 minute timeframe. 
    Door-to-balloon time is a quality measure indicating the amount of time between a heart attack patient's arrival at the emergency room to the time that patient’s blocked artery is reopened in the catheterization lab.  
    PCI, commonly known as angioplasty, is a non-surgical procedure used to treat stenotic coronary arteries of the heart found in heart disease. These narrowed segments are due to the buildup of the cholesterol-laden plaques that form because of the thickening of the artery wall that restricts blood flow to the heart.   
    During PCI, an interventional cardiologist feeds a deflated balloon or other device on a catheter from the radial (wrist) artery or femoral (groin) artery up through blood vessels until they reach the site of blockage in the heart. X-ray imaging is used to guide the catheter threading. At the blockage, the balloon is inflated to open the artery, allowing blood to flow. A stent is often placed at the site of blockage to permanently open the artery and restore blood flow to the heart.
    The Accredited Chest Pain Center at Lane Regional Medical Center leads the way in cardiac care in the region, with the latest cath lab equipment, technology and active staff relationships with the region’s leading cardiovascular specialists at Cardiovascular Institute of the South.
About the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care 
The Society (SCPC) is an international not-for-profit organization whose mission is to transform cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only cross-specialty Society, SCPC provides the support needed for hospital systems to effectively bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education and support necessary to successfully navigate the changing face of healthcare.   For more information on SCPC, accreditation and certification opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.