STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville recently was recertified by The Joint Commission for Chest Pain. This means that patients in the Stephenville area have greater access to quality cardiovascular care, with staff members able to quickly identify cardiovascular emergencies and transfer the patient to the appropriate level of care.

“This recertification demonstrates the tireless work and commitment exhibited daily by our employees and physicians on the Texas Health Stephenville medical staff,” said Christopher Leu hospital president. “The recognition validates our use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to improve the health of the cardiovascular patients living in our community.”

Established in 2002 and awarded for a two-year period, The Joint Commission’s Disease-Specific Care Certification evaluates clinical programs across the continuum of care and addresses three core areas:

• Compliance with consensus-based national standards
• Effective use of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to manage and optimize care
• An organized approach to performance measurement and improvement activities

Texas Health Stephenville follows a standardized method of delivering clinical care to patients with chest pain and Acute Coronary Syndrome using guidelines developed by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology Foundation, said Emily Pylant, B.S.N., R.N., the hospital’s trauma and chest pain coordinator.

“We constantly evaluate and improve the care of chest pain patients through quick identification of what type of cardiovascular treatment is needed,” Pylant said.