MCCG Achieves Status as Accredited Chest Pain Center

MCCG Achieves Status as Accredited Chest Pain Center

Hospital Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI 

MACON, GA (Monday, January 14, 2013) – The Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG) has received full Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction.

MCCG has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and undergoing an onsite review by a team of SPCP's accreditation review specialists. Key areas in which the Accredited Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include the following:

• Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly.
• Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms.
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures.
• Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel.
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.

To the communities served by MCCG, accreditation 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, and 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 should not minimize their symptoms or delay investigation,” said Judy Paull, Chief Nursing Officer at MCCG. “Timing is critical, and the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient.”

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. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, MCCG has demonstrated its commitment to higher standards and to quality care for cardiac patients.