Methodist Healthcare
August 13, 2019

SAN ANTONIO, TX — The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has recognized Methodist Texsan Hospital for its demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients who come to an electrophysiology (EP) lab and cardiac cath lab for care, including diagnostic catheterizations and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures. The ACC awarded Methodist Texsan Hospital with these accreditations in July based on rigorous onsite evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients. Methodist Texsan Hospital is the first hospital in South Texas to achieve both accreditations and has been designated as a HeartCARE Center.

“Methodist Texsan Hospital has demonstrated its commitment to providing South Texas with excellent heart care,” said Phillip D. Levy, MD, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award Methodist Texsan Hospital with Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI and EP Lab Accreditation.”

Hospitals receiving accreditation from the ACC must take part in a multi-faceted clinical process that involves completing a gap analysis; examining variances of care; developing an action plan; a rigorous onsite review; and monitoring for sustained success. Improved methods and strategies of caring for patients include streamlining processes, implementing guidelines and standards, and adopting best practices. Facilities that achieve accreditation meet or exceed an array of stringent criteria and have organized a team of doctors, nurses, clinicians, and other administrative staff that earnestly support the efforts leading to improved patient outcomes.

“This achievement really highlights the extraordinary work that our staff is doing for our patients,” said Amanda Wood, Chief Nursing Officer at Methodist Texsan Hospital. “It was a team effort that truly encompassed influence from the bedside team, physician partners, our quality department, and leadership across the organization.”

ACC Cardiac Cath Lab Accreditation with PCI

Percutaneous coronary intervention is also known as coronary angioplasty. It is a non-surgical procedure that opens narrowed or blocked coronary arteries with a balloon to relieve symptoms of heart disease or reduce heart damage during or after a heart attack.

Hospitals that have proven exceptional competency in treating patients who require cardiac catheterization have standardized their assessment process for patients before undergoing catheterization to ensure quality and patient safety. They ensure that care in the procedure room for sedation, infection control, radiation safety, universal protocol, and time out procedures is fully coordinated; and have mastered the appropriate transfer to a cath recovery unit to better monitor and track complications, enhance physician-to-patient communication, patient family communication, discharge instructions and follow-up information.

ACC EP Lab Accreditation

Electrophysiology labs provide care for patients with arrhythmias and may employ treatments such as cardiac ablation and implantable devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

“I would like to recognize the professionalism and hard work of our physicians, nurses and technicians who contributed to this achievement,” said Keith Hendricks, Director of Cardiac Cath and EP Labs. “The exceptional vision of our executive leadership team allowed us to pursue the HeartCARE Center of Excellence accreditation.”


About Methodist Healthcare System

Methodist Healthcare System – San Antonio is the largest provider of health care in South and Central Texas with 28 facilities including nine acute care hospitals serving over 94,000 inpatients and 500,000 outpatients annually. The System team is comprised of 11,000 employees, making Methodist Healthcare System the second largest private employer in San Antonio. The Texas Quality Foundation selected Methodist Healthcare System to receive the 2014 Texas Award for Performance Excellence, making Methodist the first and only health care system in South Texas to receive this award, which requires an organization to demonstrate its commitment to the highest quality standards. With more than 2,700 credentialed physicians, Methodist Healthcare System provides the largest array of medical services in the region including neurosurgery, cardiovascular services, transplants, oncology and women’s services. The health system is equally co-owned by HCA and the Methodist Healthcare Ministries. HCA Healthcare is one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services, comprising 178 hospitals and approximately 1,800 sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers and physician clinics in 20 states and the United Kingdom. Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. is a private, faith-based not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating access to health care for the uninsured through direct services, community partnerships and strategic grant making in 74 counties across South Texas. Visit http://www.SAHealth.com to learn more.

About the American College of Cardiology

The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its more than 52,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org.