Wesley Medical Center one of 58 hospitals in the nation to be awarded Heart Failure Accreditation | Health

Wesley Medical Center is proud to announce it is now the first hospital in South Mississippi to be awarded Heart Failure Accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Building on its commitment to being a leader in cardiac care, Wesley Medical Center adds Heart Failure Accreditation status to its designation as an Accredited Chest Pain Center, and its ranking as the number one hospital in Mississippi for cardiac care, as reported by CareChex.  Wesley is the second hospital in the state of Mississippi and one of only 58 hospitals in the United States to achieve this accreditation.

“I’m proud of the way our team worked together to earn Heart Failure Accreditation,” said Cardiologist Mark Campbell, M.D. of the Hattiesburg Heart and Vascular Clinic. “This is the latest step in Wesley’s commitment to providing superior team-centered cardiac care.”

Heart failure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Approximately five million patients in the United States have heart failure. In addition, heart failure patients are responsible for 12 to 15 million physician office visits per year and 6.5 million hospital days. SCPC’s goal is to help facilities manage the heart failure patient more efficiently and improve patient outcomes.

“More Medicare dollars are spent for the diagnosis and treatment of heart failure than any other disease. At Wesley Medical Center, we are pleased to have taken measures through Heart Failure Accreditation to do our part to improve the lives of our heart failure patients while keeping costs down as much as possible,” said Wesley Medical Center CEO Mike Neuendorf. “Adding this distinction to a long list of noteworthy achievements in the field of cardiac services shows our commitment to providing superior heart care here at Wesley.”

Wesley Medical Center 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 SCPC’s accreditation review specialists. This protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment and to risk stratify patients to decrease their length of stay. Key areas in which a facility with Heart Failure Accreditation must demonstrate expertise include the following:

• Emergency Department Integration with Emergency Medical Services
• Emergency Assessment of Patients with Symptoms of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure-Diagnosis
• Risk Stratification of the Heart Failure Patient
• Treatment for Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department in Heart Failure
• Heart Failure Discharge Criteria from the Emergency Department, Observation Stay or Inpatient Stay
• Heart Failure Patient Education in the Emergency Department, Observation and Inpatient Unit
• Personnel, Competencies and Training
• Process Improvement
• Organizational Structure and Commitment
• Heart Failure Community Outreach

About Wesley Medical Center

Wesley Medical Center is dedicated to providing high quality medical services and personal, compassionate care. Ranked as the number one hospital in Mississippi for Cardiac Care, Major Orthopedic Care, Joint Replacement, Spinal Surgery and GI Care by Carechex, a medical quality rating service of the Delta Group, Wesley has earned its reputation as an outstanding provider of medical care. Wesley also has been recognized by The Joint Commission as a Top Performer in Key Quality Measures, one of only 405 hospitals in the nation to earn this distinction. Wesley operates the area’s first and only accredited Chest Pain Center. For more information, call 601-268-8000 or visit Wesley.com.

About the Society of Chest Pain Centers

The Society of Chest Pain Centers 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.