The American College of Cardiology has recognized St. Joseph Hospital for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients who come to a cardiac cath lab for care, including diagnostic catheterizations and percutaneous coronary intervention procedures. St. Joe was awarded Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI based on rigorous onsite evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in this setting.
Percutaneous coronary intervention is also known as coronary angioplasty. It is a non-surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked coronary arteries with a balloon to relieve symptoms of heart disease or reduce heart damage during or after a heart attack.
St. Joe is the first hospital in northern Indiana, and only the second in the state, to earn this accreditation. Additional information about ACC accredited facilities is available at: https://cvquality.acc.org/accreditation/map.
“The cardiac cath lab has long been a shining star of St. Joe because of our team’s ability to provide some of the fastest door-to-balloon times for acute myocardial infarction in the city,” said Louis Lopez, MD, cardiac cath lab medical director and chief of staff, St. Joseph Hospital. “This is just a single example of the quality and performance of the many hard-working individuals who have, in some cases, dedicated their entire careers to serving our patients. They deserve much credit.”
Hospitals that have proven exceptional competency in treating patients who require cardiac catheterization have standardized their assessment process for patients before undergoing catheterization to ensure quality and patient safety. They ensure that care in the procedure room for sedation, infection control, radiation safety, universal protocol, and time out procedures is fully coordinated; and have mastered the appropriate transfer to a cath recovery unit to better monitor and track complications, enhance physician-to-patient communication, patient family communication, discharge instructions and follow-up information.
“St. Joseph Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to providing Fort Wayne with excellent heart care,” said Phillip D. Levy, MD, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award St. Joe with Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI.”
