FORT WORTH, Texas — For the second consecutive time, Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth has earned Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval^® and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark for Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification*.

Texas Health Fort Worth is one of just six facilities in North Texas, and one of fewer than 30 hospitals in the nation, to have achieved this level of distinction.

“Earning national recognition for the second time demonstrates that we’re continuously striving to do what’s best for our patients and their loved ones,” said Jared Shelton, FACHE, Texas Health Fort Worth president. “Everyone here is driven by a commitment to provide exceptional patient care with compassion — from the physicians on the medical staff, to nurses, to each and every hospital employee.”

Outlining criteria for the certification

Having a cohesive, multidisciplinary program that includes 24-hour emergency services, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, vascular surgery and heart failure therapy, is a key component of Texas Health Fort Worth maintaining its certification. Facilities must also offer specific services to cardiac patients, including:

• Providing cardiac disease prevention resources
• Managing and triaging emergency cardiovascular conditions
• Addressing cardiac arrest
• Addressing ischemic heart disease
• Addressing cardiac valve disease
• Offering electrophysiology services and outpatient cardiac device clinics
• Providing cardiac rehabilitation (on-site or by referral)
• Providing heart failure management, including outpatient services

“This is the highest and most rigorous cardiac certification offered by Joint Commission,” said Nelson Martinez, M.S.N., R.N., LP, Texas Health Fort Worth’s Heart & Vascular director. “Being the only facility in Tarrant County with this specific certification speaks volumes to the continued focus and dedication the heart and vascular care team demonstrates daily.”

More than 350,000 people in the U.S. have a cardiac arrest outside the hospital each year, making the condition a major public health crisis, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. As a Comprehensive Cardiac Center, Texas Health Fort Worth provides these critically ill patients with the immediate care they require for a better chance of survival, from accurate diagnosis and effective cardiac therapy to outpatient resources, such as cardiac rehabilitation.

“Even after a successful procedure, patients sometimes deal with cognitive deficits, anxiety and depression,” Martinez added. “Texas Health Fort Worth’s comprehensive cardiac program addresses the needs of patients when they arrive at our doors and well beyond discharge. We want individuals to get back to enjoying life and being with their loved ones.”

According to Sunita Koshy-Nesbitt, M.D., MBA, a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist, earning national certification is more than just meeting the criteria.

“We are so proud of the Texas Health Fort Worth care team and the work that they have done,” said Koshy-Nesbitt, who also serves as Texas Health’s Hospital Channel chief quality officer and as chief medical and quality officer for Texas Health Physicians Group**. “Proper diagnosis and treatment are paramount. When individuals choose us for their care, our goal is to help prevent, identify and address cardiac conditions with compassion and high-quality care.”

Created in 2019, the certification requires health facilities to complete a rigorous two-day, on-site review by Joint Commission. To maintain the Comprehensive Cardiac Center Certification, Texas Health Fort Worth will undergo another review process in two years. To learn how Texas Health is advancing heart and vascular care throughout North Texas, click here.

*Joint Commission partnered with the American Heart Association to develop different cardiac certification levels to represent the services an organization can provide for patients experiencing chest pain related to acute coronary syndrome (ACS), including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Comprehensive Cardiac Centers incorporate disease prevention efforts by identifying and addressing risk factors as well as disease management in inpatient and outpatient settings.

**Providers employed by Texas Health Physicians Group are not employees or agents of Texas Health Resources hospitals.