Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark for Primary Heart Attack Center Certification, Texas Health said in a news release.
Texas Health Fort Worth became the first facility in the nation to earn the prestigious award on Dec. 30, 2019, the hospital said.
“It’s definitely an honor to be the first hospital in the country to earn this distinction, but only because it confirms we’re doing what’s best for our patients,” said Joseph DeLeon, Texas Health Fort Worth hospital president.
To earn the newly created certification, Texas Health Fort Worth underwent a rigorous, unannounced onsite review last fall.
During the visit, reviewers evaluated the quality of the hospital’s treatment of STEMI – one of the most common and lethal types of heart attacks. STEMI, or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, is a major heart attack caused by a complete blockage of one of the heart’s main arteries.
“All aspects of our program, from diagnosis to monitoring to treatment of these heart attacks, were scrutinized,” said DeLeon, “and we’re proud to be recognized for fast, quality care in this case, where every second counts.”
As a Primary Heart Attack Center, Texas Health Fort Worth has shown that it has the necessary resources and manpower to provide percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) – a procedure used to address blocked arteries – to heart attack patients, 24 hours, seven days a week, the news release said.
Texas Health Resources is a faith-based, nonprofit health system that serves 16 counties and more than 7 million people in North Texas at 27 hospital locations.
The system has more than 4,000 licensed hospital beds, 6,200 physicians with active staff privileges and more than 25,000 employees.
www.TexasHealth.org
– FWBP Staff