Contact: Gray Onobrakpeya
PinnacleHealth Public Relations Coordinator
(717) 231-8104
409 South 2nd Street, Suite 1A
Harrisburg, PA 17104
MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT
PinnacleHealth Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation
HARRISBURG, PA – PinnacleHealth’s Harrisburg Hospital is the first hospital in Central Pennsylvania to be recognized as an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Following a rigorous re-evaluation and refinement of heart care processes in order to integrate the industry’s best practices and an on-site survey, PinnacleHealth received full accreditation as a center with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) from the Accreditation Review Committee on March 16, 2010.
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
As an Accredited Chest Pain Center, PinnacleHealth ensures that patients who come to the hospital complaining of chest pain or discomfort are given the immediate treatment necessary to avoid as much heart damage as possible. Protocol-based procedures developed by leading experts in cardiac care to reduce time to treatment in the critical early stages of a heart attack are part of PinnacleHealth’s overall cardiac care service.
The benefits of having an Accredited Chest Pain Center right here in Central Pennsylvania include:
- Reduced time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack
- Integrating the best practices for cardiac care into process
- Better outcomes
- Timely, accurate diagnoses of all patients presenting with signs and symptoms of heart disease that help reduce unnecessary admissions, saving patients money and inconvenience
- Recognizable symbol of trust that helps patients and emergency medical service (EMS) make decisions at highly stressful times
- Better public understanding of the symptoms of heart attack and how to deal with heart emergencies
“People should not wait when they think they might be having a heart attack.” said Lewis Shaw, MD, chair of the emergency department at PinnacleHealth. “The average patient arrives in the Emergency Department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they may not know is that
the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome.”
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PinnacleHealth is a non-profit healthcare system serving Central Pennsylvania. The healthcare network includes four campuses (Community, Cumberland, Harrisburg and Polyclinic), FamilyCare physician practices, home health and hospice services, outpatient surgery and imaging centers, inpatient and outpatient care and an array of other healthcare services. For a complete list of services, visit our website at www.pinnaclehealth.org.
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Accredited Chest Pain Center with PCI is the designation earned by a healthcare facility that meets the standards for Cycle II and/or Cycle III Accreditation and uses primary PCI as the facility's reperfusion strategy of first choice for STEMI.