Houston Northwest Medical Center Becomes The First Hospital In Houston To Receive Prestigious Cycle III Chest Pain Center Accreditation

In its continuous pursuit of quality cardiac care, Houston Northwest Medical Center was proudly recognized as the first accredited chest pain center in Houston and one of a handful in Texas to be named a Cycle III Chest Pain Center with PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention). Cycle III accreditation is the highest accreditation possible for treatment of chest pain -- by the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is a patient centric non-profit international professional organization focused upon improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and other related maladies. The Society’s accreditation recognizes Chest Pain Centers who have demonstrated its 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 the Society of Chest Pain Centers. 

“The high standards set by the society will benefit our patients, who can be certain that our goal with our heart attack patients is to save lives, improve patient outcomes, and provide an overall strategy for cardiac care,” says Pam Egan, Director of the Ed Roberson Heart Center at Houston Northwest Medical Center.

Click here and learn more about our Cycle III Chest Pain Center Accreditation. 

What is an accredited chest pain center and why does a hospital seek accreditation?

Goals of an accredited chest pain center
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually of heart disease. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers 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.

Accredited chest pain center mission
The Chest Pain Center’s protocol driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

The Society’s accreditation process insures centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine. The Chest Pain Center at Houston Northwest Medical Center has demonstrated its 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 the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

To earn Chest Pain Center accreditation, a facility must successfully meet the Society’s eight criteria:

• 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 they display symptoms of a possible heart attack