FLORENCE-(Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital – Florence, AL) received full accreditation with PCI from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) on April 23, 2014.
“The accreditation process is about improvement in patient outcomes and with this acknowledgment, we achieved
Shannon Nash
our goal,” said ECM Hospital Chest Pain Coordinator, Shannon Nash, RN, CCRN, CEN, EMT-IV. “It was a collaborative effort involving our emergency department, medical staff, staff nurses, ancillary staff, and local emergency management personnel,” added Nash. With PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) indicates ECM has dedicated interventional and diagnostic cardiologists as well as cardiovascular surgeons trained in rapid response and treatment of heart attacks.
Russell Pigg, Chief Executive Officer at ECM said, “We are thrilled to receive this recognition. It illustrates many hours of hard work and effort to bring the best of the best to the tri-state communities we serve. It is another example of our efforts to keep our residents/patients close to
Russell Pigg
home for their medical care.” Pigg adds “While we have to wait to begin construction on our new 280-bed regional medical center, we are moving forward with the clinical expertise and service lines our communities deserve.”
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. ECM’s and SCPC’s 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.
ECM’s Accredited 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 or not they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
The Accredited Chest Pain Center at ECM Hospital has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting 
or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and undergoing an onsite review by a team of SPCP’s accreditation review specialists. Key areas in which an Accredited Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include the following:
- 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 the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center personnel
- 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
Over the past several years, ECM Hospital has recruited and brought to the tri-state area of northwest Alabama, northeast Mississippi and southern Tennessee, over 55 new medical providers, new service lines such as neurology, rheumatology, endocrinology, infectious diseases and enhanced cardiac and vascular services. These efforts reflect our mission – treating you like family, with the peace of mind that comes from extraordinary care, close to home.
For more information about our Accredited Chest Pain Center, or other services provided by ECM Hospital, please contact Tom Whetstone, Communications Director at (256) 768-8888 or jtwhetstone@chgroup.org.
About the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care
The Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) is an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only cross-specialty organization, SCPC provides the support needed for individual hospitals and hospital systems to effectively bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education and support necessary to successfully navigate the changing face of healthcare. For more information on SCPC, accreditation and certification opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.
MEDIA RELEASE/ELIZA COFFEE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL/TOM WHETSTONE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
