Sparks accredited as a chest pain center

Sparks Health System is now an accredited “Chest Pain Center.” According to Sparks, it is the only such accredited center in the Fort Smith region.

The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international not-for-profit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care, has awarded Sparks Regional Medical Center its Chest Pain Center Accreditation.

To receive SCPC accreditation, Sparks Regional Medical Center was evaluated by the SCPC on the ability of staff to assess, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. That means processes are in place at Sparks to treat patients more quickly during the critical window of time when the integrity of the heart muscle can be preserved, and also to reduce the time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis and treatment.

In addition, Sparks staff will monitor patients when heart attack symptoms are present to ensure they are not sent home too quickly or needlessly admitted to the hospital.

Sparks Health System includes Sparks Regional Medical Center, Sparks Clinic (an employed multi-specialty physician group with 13 clinic locations), Sparks PremierCare (PHO) and the fully-integrated Marvin Altman Fitness Center.