Rapides Regional Medical Center is proud to announce its recent accreditation as a Cycle IV Chest Pain Center by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. (SCPC). RRMC first received accreditation from the SCPC in 2011.

“We are very proud of our team of professionals who have once again proven their dedication and skills to care for our cardiac patients,” said Jason Cobb, chief executive officer at RRMC. “This accreditation validates our commitment to providing the highest level of care for our patients.”

The SCPC is an international organization dedicated to eliminating heart disease as the No. 1 cause of death worldwide.

Hospitals that receive SCPC accreditation have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive with symptoms of a heart attack. They emphasize the importance of standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms. They also serve as a point of entry into the healthcare system to evaluate and treat other medical problems, and they help to promote a healthier lifestyle in an attempt to reduce the risk factors for heart attack.

To become an Accredited Chest Pain Center, Rapides Regional Medical Center was evaluated by SCPC for the hospital’s ability to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. To Central Louisiana, this means Rapides Regional Medical Center has processes in place to:

  • Reduce the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment
  • Treat patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved
  • Monitor patients when it is not certain that they are having a heart attack to ensure that they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital

“People tend to wait when they think they might be having a heart attack, and that’s a mistake,” said Lynn Randall, RN, Rapides Regional Medical Center’s coordinator of cardiovascular initiatives. “The average patient arrives in the emergency department more than two hours after the onset of symptoms, but what they don’t realize is that the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient.”

Rapides Regional Medical Center’s state-of-the-art healthcare encompasses the entire continuum of care for the heart patient and includes such focal points as dispatch, Emergency Medical System, emergency department, cath lab, Rapides Regional’s quality assurance plan, and community outreach program. By receiving this reaccreditation, Rapides Regional Medical Center proves that it continues to offer enhanced quality of care for the cardiac patient and demonstrates its commitment to higher standards.