From the American Heart Association:
This accreditation identifies hospitals qualified to provide patients undergoing the most deadly form of heart attack (ST-elevation myocardial infarction or STEMI) with diagnosis, initial care, stabilization and transport to a receiving center hospital for treatment. The Society of Chest Pain Centers, an international organization that helps facilities transform cardiovascular care, and the American Heart Association developed the accreditation.
To earn referring center status, the hospital must:
- Facilitate immediate transfer of STEMI patients to receiving centers (facilities with the expertise and equipment to perform angioplasty, a procedure for reopening blocked arteries).
- Have the expertise and equipment to treat STEMI patients with clot-busting drugs if appropriate and if prompt transfer to a heart attack receiving center is not an option.
- Treat STEMI patients according to American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines.
- Follow protocols for immediate treatment and transfer of STEMI patients to a heart attack receiving center.
- Expedite transfer of patient data to a receiving center hospital team.
- Coordinate patients’ return to local community and follow-up care after discharge from receiving center.
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