Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, Rochester Michigan announces it has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international organization dedicated to eliminating heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. Crittenton is one of only 14 accredited facilities in the state of Michigan.
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 time efficient and effective evaluation as well as advanced rapid response treatment of patients with chest pain or 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, Crittenton 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 Crittenton, 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 to preserve heart muscle and save lives
• Monitoring patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are evaluated in a time efficient manner. This allows for enhanced patient care and timely discharge when a heart attack is found not to be the cause of their symptoms.
“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” states Samer Kazziha, MD, Executive Director of Cardiovascular Services at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center. “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.”
Crittenton’s state-of-the-art healthcare encompasses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient and includes such focal points as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, cath lab, Crittenton’s quality assurance plan, and Crittenton’s community outreach program. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Crittenton has enhanced the quality of care for the cardiac patient and has demonstrated its commitment to higher standards.
About Tom and Ann Gendich