Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Only Facility in Big Bend to Earn Top Chest Pain Center Accreditation from American College of Cardiology
Tallahassee Memorial has earned reaccreditation as a Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation, providing the highest level of care for heart attack and cardiac arrest patients.
Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) has once again been recognized by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) as the Big Bend region’s only Accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation. The highest level of accreditation for a Chest Pain Center, this designation reaffirms that TMH provides the most advanced and timely evidence-based care to patients in our community who have suffered a heart attack or cardiac arrest.
The ACC Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation Accreditation is based on rigorous onsite evaluation of TMH’s medical staff and colleagues’ abilities to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack or cardiac arrest. The recognition is also a product of vital collaboration between TMH and several emergency medical services.
“This accreditation is a testament to the unmatched dedication and teamwork of our physicians, colleagues and first responders who work tirelessly to ensure our community has access to the exceptional emergency care we hope they’ll never need,” shared Mark O’Bryant, President & CEO of TMH. “As we strive to elevate the standards of healthcare practice and quality in our region, we evaluate the services most important to our community and neighbors. With the Southeastern United States experiencing some of the highest rates of cardiovascular disease in the nation, it’s vital that we provide the most advanced heart and vascular care close to home.”
The “Primary PCI” designation affirms that TMH uses a specialized treatment called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as the primary treatment for acute heart attacks; at TMH, PCI is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. This ensures that, no matter when their cardiac event occurs, patients experiencing an acute heart attack receive rapid treatment in TMH’s state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab to minimize damage to the heart muscle. One in four heart attack victims will have a severe enough heart attack to require PCI to open clogged arteries and restore blood flow to the heart.
The “Resuscitation” designation refers to TMH’s robust therapeutic hypothermia program for post-cardiac arrest patients. This treatment, also referred to as targeted temperature management, is designed to temporarily lower a patient's body temperature to reduce the risk of brain damage that can occur when cardiac arrest causes a cessation of blood flow to the brain and other vital organs. TMH is the only facility in the region to offer this advanced treatment modality to improve patient outcomes.
“Most centers don’t have this level of accreditation. By earning it here at Tallahassee Memorial, we’re demonstrating to our community that we provide the highest level of care, even in the most complex cases,” shared William Dixon, IV, MD, interventional cardiologist and Chest Pain Center Medical Director at TMH. “Whether you’ve had a heart attack or cardiac arrest, timing is everything; patients need to be taken care of efficiently and effectively, making it crucial that they immediately seek care from the most skilled facility available. For our community, that’s TMH.”
As a top leader in the Southeast for complex and comprehensive cardiovascular care, TMH’s Heart & Vascular Center performs a wide spectrum of heart and vascular diagnostic and treatment services, as well as procedures available only at select centers throughout the country. Committed to providing patients access to the latest and most advanced treatment options and technology for heart and vascular care, TMH’s cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons perform more clinical research and advanced procedures than any other program in the North Florida and South Georgia region.
