Hospital Re-Accredited as Chest Pain Center

Antelope Valley Medical Center received full Chest Pain Center Accreditation from the American College of Cardiology. The accreditation, initially earned in 2015, reaffirms the hospital’s comprehensive Institute for Heart & Vascular Care (IHVC) as the leading source of cardiovascular care in the Antelope Valley.

“Antelope Valley Medical Center has long been recognized as the preeminent home for cardiovascular care in the region, and this accreditation further validates the reputation our team has earned for its expertise and commitment to top quality care,” said Dr. Sameh Gadallah, a cardiologist and medical director of the IHVC. “We offer the area’s fastest, most advanced and most effective response, treatment and care to patients experiencing chest pain and other heart attack symptoms.”
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.

An accredited Chest Pain Center’s evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. Accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event. Such monitoring ensures patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

Hospitals that receive accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who present with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

Achieving Chest Pain Center Accreditation signifies that AVMC 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.
• Maintaining organizational structure and commitment.
• Constructing 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.

In addition to becoming a certified Chest Pain Center, the hospital is a STEMI (ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction) Receiving Center, which means it has the training, equipment and processes in place to immediately treat patients experiencing an acute cardiac myocardial infarction (heart attack). It also is an Advanced Primary Stroke Center, which signifies that the hospital has the equipment, infrastructure, staff, and training programs needed to provide care based on the most current research and standards to foster better outcomes for patients who have had a stroke.