After a review by the American College of Cardiology in December, Carson Tahoe Regional Health Center has earned “Chest Pain Center” accreditation by the ACC, placing it among the top heart attack centers in the country. The team at Carson Tahoe, consisting of first responders, doctors, cardiac nurses and more, implemented a system that provides the best care for heart attack patients from the moment 9-1-1 is called until after a patient has left the hospital. “Receiving Chest Pain Center accreditation is an honor and further validates our commitment to providing skilled, efficient care to our patients,” said Kate Folmer, RN, CEN and specialty designations clinical coordinator at Carson Tahoe. “To earn this accreditation, we collaborated with our entire health system as we reviewed our data and elevated and streamlined our care processes.” In the event of a heart attack, timing is critical and percutaneous coronary intervention is a minimally invasive procedure for treatment. The surgeon reopens a blocked or narrowed heart artery by inflating a small balloon in the blood vessel and, in some cases, places a stent to ensure it remains open. When a patient receives PCI treatment within 90 minutes of their arrival at the emergency department, they have the best chances at a successful recovery. Carson Tahoe was awarded Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation accreditation, the highest level of accreditation available from the ACC. To learn more about Carson Tahoe Health’s comprehensive cardiology program, visit CarsonTahoe.com/Heart and watch a video describing the accreditation at https://youtu.be/Iyu-sqaPPCo
