Novant Health UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center issued the following announcement on Aug. 12
Today Prince William Medical Center announced that it has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Mark for Primary Heart Attack Certification.
Prince William Medical Center underwent a rigorous review in Spring 2021 in which a surveyor from The Joint Commission evaluated compliance with related certification standards, specifically focusing on delivering and facilitating high-quality clinical care.
The Joint Commission standards are developed in consultation with healthcare providers, measurement experts and patients. The surveyor also conducted interviews, reviewed patient documentation and toured the emergency department, critical care unit and cardiac catheterization (cath) labs.
“It’s an honor for our team to be recognized by The Joint Commission and the American Heart Association for our expert cardiac care,” said Hamid Taheri, MD, medical director, cardiac catheterization lab at Prince William Medical Center. “The seal and certification highlight our ongoing commitment to the quality of care we provide to cardiac patients in our communities.”
The cardiac needs of Prince William County mirror the rest of the nation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone in the United States has a heart attack every 40 seconds. Year after year, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women across most racial and ethnic groups.
The awards come on the heels of Prince William Medical Center being named among one of only 132 hospitals nationwide to earn the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain – MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2021. Spring 2021 also marked the hospital’s sixth consecutive ‘A’ grade in The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Safety Grade, proving once again that area patients don’t need to sacrifice quality when choosing to receive care close to home.
“Primary Heart Attack Certification recognizes healthcare organizations committed to fostering continuous quality improvement in patient safety and quality of care,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, the chief operating officer for Accreditation and Certification Operations for The Joint Commission. “We commend Prince William Medical Center for using certification to reduce variation in its clinical processes and to strengthen its program structure and management framework for cardiac patients.
To earn this prestigious certification, the team at Prince William Medical Center demonstrated the ability to provide exceptional acute care to patients coming to the emergency department, transferring in from another facility or arriving via local Emergency Medical Services.
This required Prince William Medical Center to establish relationships with transport companies. Area ambulances are now equipped with wireless modems that transmit results to hospital providers who can make the diagnosis and prepare the cath lab before the patient even arrives at the hospital. Additionally, Prince William Medical Center opened its second cardiac cath lab in February 2020 to improve the availability of timely quality cardiac care for both emergency and elective procedures.
“This is an exciting accomplishment for Prince William Medical Center and underscores the benefits of further uniting our local providers and facilities with UVA Health,” said Ara Maranian, MD, FACC, physician leader for the heart and vascular service line at Prince William Medical Center. “Earning these certifications proves to our patients and their families that they can trust our physicians and advanced practice providers to deliver high-quality cardiac care in their own backyard.”
For more information about heart and cardiac care services at Prince William Medical Center, visit NovantHealthUVA.org/heart.
For more information on The Joint Commission, please visit JointCommission.org.
Original source can be found here.
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