As a Chest Pain Center, Atrium Medical Center treats cardiac patients following nationally-recognized best practices

​By Chelsey Levingston, Site Manager, Public and Community Relations at Atrium Medical Center

Atrium Medical Center has received full Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Accreditation Services. 

“Achieving Chest Pain Center Accreditation provides the hospital and the pre-hospital emergency system an opportunity to identify patients with chest pain and standardize the treatment based on best practices,” said Dr. Ralph Talkers, medical director of the Emergency Trauma Center at Atrium Medical Center. “The reason this is so important is the need to quickly capture patients who are having a heart attack, which is reflective of a clogged heart artery, which can kill heart muscle.”

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. ACC Accreditation Services’ 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 that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

“This accreditation is another example of Atrium Medical Center striving to achieve cardiac excellence,” said Dr. Ali Usmani, medical director of the Accredited Chest Pain Center at Atrium.

By achieving the ACC’s Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation status, Atrium Medical Center demonstrates expertise in the following areas:

• Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system;
• Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly; 
• Effectively treating patients at low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms;
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures;
• Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel; and
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack.

“This accreditation is a testament to the collaboration among our local Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Trauma Center, Cardiac Cath Laboratory, and Cardiology Departments who worked diligently to streamline Atrium Medical Center’s processes for diagnosis, treatment and management of patients experiencing chest pain and heart attacks,” said Kim Crout, coordinator for the Chest Pain Center at Atrium. “By becoming an accredited Chest Pain Center, it means our community can count on Atrium Medical Center to provide the highest quality cardiac care close to home when it is needed.” 

Atrium Medical Center is a full-service hospital and Level III Trauma Center employing approximately 1,500 people in full-time, part-time and on-call positions. Atrium is operated by the Dayton-based nonprofit Premier Health system.

For more information about the Chest Pain Center, visit www.AtriumMedCenter.org/emergency.

(from left to right: Kim Crout, coordinator of the Chest Pain Center, Dr. Ralph Talkers, medical director of the Emergency Trauma Center, and Dr. Ali Usmani, medical director of the Accredited Chest Pain Center.)