Baptist Carroll County, Baptist North Mississippi, NEA Baptist Hospital and Baptist Golden Triangle recently joined Baptist Memphis and Baptist DeSoto in earning American College of Cardiology chest pain center accreditation.
Hospitals receiving the accreditation must take part in a multi-faceted clinical process that includes a rigorous onsite review and monitoring for sustained success. They also have organized a team of doctors, nurses, clinicians and other administrative staff that support efforts leading to better patient education and improved patient outcomes.
Baptist DeSoto is the only hospital in the Baptist system that has earned three kinds of accreditations: chest pain center, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Its chest pain center accreditation was renewed in April 2018, while the heart failure and atrial fibrillation accreditations were renewed two years ago.
“Having three cardiac accreditations helps us connect more with the community around education, schools, health fairs and even the Mississippi Nurses Association,” said Cheryl Berry, MSN, director of nursing and the cardiac service line at Baptist DeSoto. “We want to educate the community on all things cardiac but specifically on the importance of follow-up care and how to manage heart failure and atrial fibrillation.”
Baptist Memphis is in the process of submitting for version six of the chest pain accreditation. The hospital earned versions four and five in 2013 and 2016. Every three years, hospitals submit for a version of the accreditation based on several pillars of best practices.
“We have grown every three years with each accreditation,” said Toya Dabney, RN, BSN, advanced nurse clinician and chest pain coordinator at Baptist Memphis. “We have adjusted our goals and greatly improved door-to-balloon time; now it is better than the national average. As a hospital with chest pain accreditation, we have access to best practices at other hospitals and can improve processes based on proven programs other hospitals have implemented.”
