T.J. Samson Community Hospital has earned the Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary PCI for the second time by the American College of Cardiology, for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients with chest pain.
T.J. Samson was notified of reaccreditation earlier this month based on a rigorous evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 730,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. Highly skilled clinicians in the Emergency Department are trained to recognize and treat symptoms of a heart attack ranging from classic chest pressure to symptoms that are less common.
The cardiology team at T.J. is trained in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty. It is a non-surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked coronary arteries with a balloon to relieve symptoms of heart disease or reduce heart damage during or after a heart attack.
“Our team does very well at recognizing and treating emergent heart attacks with response times that are significantly less than the national standard,” according to Neil Thornbury, CEO of T.J. Regional Health. “This is exciting news for our organization, and it’s a result of an excellent team effort and it is a spectacular accomplishment for our growing health system.”
Hospitals that have earned ACC Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation have proven exceptional competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms and have primary PCI available 24/7. They have streamlined their systems from admission to evaluation to diagnosis and treatment all the way through to appropriate post-discharge care and recommendations and assistance in patient lifestyle changes. In addition, they have formal agreements with other facilities that regularly refer heart attack patients to their facility for primary PCI. Facilities that achieve accreditation meet or exceed an array of stringent criteria and have organized a team of doctors, nurses, clinicians, and other administrative staff that earnestly support the efforts leading to better patient education and improved patient outcomes.
“T.J. Samson Community Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to providing Southcentral Kentucky with excellent heart care,” said Phillip D. Levy, MD, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award T.J. Samson with Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation.”
For more information on the Chest Pain Center Accreditation and our other accreditations, please visit the T.J. Regional Health website.
About T.J. Regional Health
T.J. Regional Health, the parent system of T.J. Samson Community Hospital and T.J. Health Columbia is fully accredited by the Joint Commission. In addition to two hospitals, the organization owns and operations the T.J. Health Pavilion, which provides outpatient care and physician offices as well as a Family Medicine Center and Residency Program, Home Care Services, and numerous Rural Health Clinics in the South Central Kentucky region. For more information about the services offered at T.J. Regional Health, please visit www.tjregionalhealth.org.