Atrium, which is operated by Dayton-based Premier Health Partners, announced the accreditation on Monday. The hospital’s echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular and pulmonary rehabilitation also are accredited by other agencies.
“What that status means is that Atrium has processes in place that meet their strict standards,” said Rhonda Proffitt, director of cardiology. “The key is to treat patients more quickly, thereby saving their heart muscle.”
The criteria scrutinized Atrium’s processes in treating chest pain, including the time between when symptoms start and treatment is received, as well as patient monitoring, according to Atrium.
One practice used to trim response time was implemented last year by the hospital and area emergency medical technicians to transmit electrocardiograms to the hospital from the scene. If the heart monitor reading is positive for an attack, a team is activated and ready before the patient arrives at the emergency department. Mock drills also are held in the emergency department for practice, said Marquita Turner, director of emergency and trauma services.
Plus, weekly meetings discuss each chest pain case, said Kim Crout, quality registered nurse and chest pain center coordinator. These types of processes have reduced the “door to balloon time” to as little as 23 minutes, compared to a standard 90 minutes, Crout said.
On Nov. 22, Mercy Hospital Fairfield was the only hospital in the Cincinnati region to be ranked in the top 50 of U.S. hospitals for cardiovascular care by Thomson Reuters.
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