Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center announces that it has received Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (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.

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 efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other 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, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center 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 Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, 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 when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved
• 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

“What we want people to recognize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient, ” said CEO Mike Cowling. Our message to the community is to go to an Accredited Chest Pain Center immediately if they experience any symptoms of a heart attack.”

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center’s healthcare services encompass the entire continuum of care for the heart patient and include such focal points as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, cath lab, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center’s quality assurance plan, and community outreach program. By becoming an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center has enhanced the quality of care for the cardiac patient and has demonstrated its commitment to higher standards.

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is at 3360 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens.