 LOUISVILLE, KY. (May 12, 2010): Norton Audubon Hospital has received the highest possible accreditation for treatment of chest pain – Cycle III with PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) – from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC). Norton Audubon is the only hospital in the region and one of only three in Kentucky to achieve this designation.
“We are extremely excited to receive this prestigious designation from the SCPC,” said Steve MacLauchlan, president, Norton Audubon Hospital. “Individuals who experience chest pain in the metropolitan Louisville area can receive the highest accredited emergency cardiac treatment available anywhere in the region.
“Receiving immediate, effective care is vitally important for people having chest pain. The shorter the time that elapses between arriving at an emergency department and receiving treatment for chest pain, the better the chances of surviving a heart attack and minimizing heart damage,” MacLauchlan said.
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than 5 million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. SCPC’s goal 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 it takes to receive treatment and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
Norton Audubon received the Cycle III with PCI designation after demonstrating expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from SCPC.
The society’s accredited chest pain center is an operational model for acute coronary syndrome care. Key areas in which a chest pain center must demonstrate expertise include:
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
- 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 chest pain center personnel competency and training
- Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
- Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
- Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if symptoms of a possible heart attack are experienced
Record treatment times for cardiac patients
Norton Audubon Hospital has a longstanding tradition of excellence and innovation in cardiac care. It was the site of the world’s second artificial heart transplant in the 1980s, a world leader in heart laser surgery in the 1990s and the first hospital in the region to use the FDA-approved heart stent in the 2000s.
The hospital recently achieved a new record “door-to-balloon” time of 13 minutes, which is well below the “90 minutes or less” recommended by national guidelines developed by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Door-to-balloon (D2B) time refers to the amount of time that elapses between a heart attack patient arriving at the emergency department and the patient receiving lifesaving treatment such as angioplasty. This new record is the latest in a series of improvements Norton Audubon continues to make in its D2B time.
In 2007, the hospital’s median D2B time was 93 minutes for all primary heart attack patients arriving at the emergency department. In early 2008, Norton Audubon revised its processes to allow emergency department physicians to activate the cardiac catheterization lab without a cardiologist’s review. With process improvements, Norton Audubon’s D2B time for 2009 was 75 minutes, an 18-minute improvement.
Further improvements were to come. In the spring of 2008, the Norton Healthcare Board of Trustees approved spending $100,000 to equip Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Services ambulances with technology that allows heart attack patients’ test results to be transmitted to hospital emergency departments for review and assessment before the patient arrives. This further increases the likelihood of improved outcomes and shorter hospital stays.
“Although EMS staff previously had been able to perform 12-lead electrocardiographs on their patients en route to the hospital, emergency department personnel did not see those test results until the ambulance arrived,” said Steven Conway, system vice president of cardiovascular and pulmonary services, Norton Healthcare. “This is valuable time lost for someone who is having a heart attack. With the new technology, hospital personnel can be ready and waiting for the patient.”
Norton Audubon catheterization lab and emergency department personnel continue to improve on the D2B time, thus improving outcomes for heart attack patients.
About Norton Heart Care
Norton Heart Care, a part of Norton Healthcare, is the Louisville area’s leading cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment program. Each year, Norton Heart Care provides diagnostic, medical, interventional and surgical care to more than 40,000 patients from Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Norton Heart Care treats patients at Norton Healthcare’s five hospitals and numerous diagnostic outpatient and specialty centers. Norton Audubon Hospital is Norton Heart Care’s largest and most comprehensive provider of cardiovascular services. In 2008, the American College of Cardiology recognized Norton Audubon as a national leader in chest pain and heart attack treatment. Norton Heart Care also treats patients at the Congenital Heart Center of Kosair Children’s Hospital, Kentucky’s only center dedicated to treating children and adults with congenital heart defects. Norton Women’s Heart Center at Norton Suburban Hospital also is a service of Norton Heart Care. It is among the first in the nation offering diagnostic and educational services dedicated exclusively to heart disease in women.
About Norton Healthcare
For more than a century, Norton Healthcare’s faith heritage has guided its mission to provide quality health care to all those it serves. Today, Norton Healthcare is the Louisville area’s leading hospital and health care system (44 percent market share) and third largest private employer, providing care at more than 100 locations throughout Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana. The not-for-profit system includes five Louisville hospitals; 11 Norton Immediate Care Centers; 10,900 employees; nearly 400 employed medical providers; and more than 2,300 total physicians on its medical staff. For five consecutive years, Norton Healthcare has been recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in Kentucky. The health care system serves patients in the Greater Louisville area, including Southern Indiana, and throughout Kentucky.
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is a patient-centric nonprofit international professional organization focused on improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and other related maladies. Established in 1998, the society is dedicated to patient advocacy and focusing on ischemic heart disease. Central to its mission is the question, “What is right for the patient?” In answer, the society promotes protocol-based medicine, often delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, and to promote the adoption of process improvement science by health care providers. To best fulfill this mission, the Society of Chest Pain Centers provides accreditation to facilities striving for optimum Chest Pain Center care. SCPC is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
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