Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. Our goal at Chester County Hospital 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.
Chester County Hospital continues to receive full accreditation with PCI from The American College of Cardiology.
By adopting the Accredited Chest Pain Center's protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management, physicians are able to better reduce the time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack - when treatments are most effective - and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether or not they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
Our standards are designed to improve the consistency and quality of care provided to patients.
To maintain designation as an Accredited Chest Pain Center, we consistently demonstrate expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting a wide set of stringent criteria:
- Integration between the Emergency Department and local emergency medical system
- Assessment, diagnosis and education of patients in a timely fashion
- Effective treatment of patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
- Continual improvement of processes and procedures
- Assurance of the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel
- Maintenance of organizational structure and commitment
- Development of a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
- Support of community outreach programs to educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack
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"When experiencing chest pain, people tend to put off seeking help and that's a mistake. 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 time is muscle and the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient."
- Timothy Boyek, M.D.
Medical Director, Cardiac Diagnostic and Interventional Catheterization Laboratories
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