SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis and SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles received full accreditation for three years from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The hospitals currently are the first and only accredited Chest Pain Centers in St. Charles County, and two of only four in the metropolitan area.

To earn accreditation status, facilities must meet or exceed a wide set of criteria covering eight areas, and undergo an on-site evaluation by a review team from the society. The Chest Pain Center at St. Joseph Hospital West has demonstrated expertise in the following areas: emergency assessment of patients with symptoms of possible acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and the timely diagnosis and treatment of ACS; functional facility design; personnel competency and training; organizational structure; process improvement orientation, and community outreach programs.

According to the American Journal of Cardiology, heart attacks are the leading cause of death among adults in the United States. Alan Umbright, MD, executive medical director of both St. Joseph emergency departments, explains that many patients wait to long to come to the emergency room after experiencing heart attack symptoms. “On average, a patient arrives at the hospital more than two hours after first noticing symptoms,” he said. “The crucial timeframe for receiving treatment is within 90 minutes after the onset of symptoms.”

A primary goal of a Chest Pain Center is to reduce the amount of time it takes for patients experiencing symptoms of a possible heart attack to see a physician, thus reducing the time it takes to receive care during the early stages when treatments are most effective. Patients who arrive at St. Joseph Hospital West and think they are having a heart attack are guaranteed quick and thorough assessment through the hospitals’ Excellence in Response Program, which calls for evaluation within 30 seconds and initiation of treatment within 30 minutes of arrival.

“The additional accreditation demonstrates our commitment to excellence in cardiac care, and most importantly, to improving patient care,” Dr. Umbright said. “We are dedicated to significantly reducing the number of deaths that occur each year as a result of heart attacks. Through this application process, and resulting accreditation as Chest Pain Centers, SSM St. Joseph has taken its heart program to a new level, responding to the needs of the community.”

For more information about SSM St. Joseph Hospital West visit www.ssmstjosephwest.com.