Article Archive

NorthBay Awarded Chest Pain Center Designation

Issue: October 2009

NorthBay Medical Center has become the first accredited Chest Pain Center in Solano County. The three-year designation was awarded by the Society of Chest Pain Centers on August 2 after a July audit of emergency services and interviews with staff, as well as Solano County Emergency Medical Service workers. Only 17 California hospitals have earned this designation.

“Chest Pain designation is another major advancement in the treatment of cardiac disease here in Solano County,” said NorthBay Healthcare President and CEO Gary Passama. “It’s another example of our commitment to compassionate care, advanced medicine, close to home. Too many people with heart conditions in the past had to leave our county for care. Not anymore.”

Dr. Ron Chapman, Solano County’s public health officer, lauded the team effort, noting the long partnership between Solano County EMS and NorthBay Healthcare.

“It’s definitely something to celebrate. People in Solano County are going to benefit in a number of ways,” said Dr. Chapman. “New services offered by NorthBay are going to save lives. It means people with heart disease are going to get critically needed services in a timely and professional manner.”

Pat Wentworth, director of emergency services for NorthBay, noted all improvements were also implemented in VacaValley Hospital’s Emergency Department. “Patients experiencing chest pain who present to either Emergency Department can expect the same high quality evaluation and intervention,” she said.

The Chest Pain Center’s protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

Back to Article Archive