Jewish Hospital, Louisville, KY, has opened a chest pain observation unit in the hospital’s accredited chest pain center. The unit, with six dedicated beds, will hold patients who are at low risk of cardiac arrest for up to 24 hours. After that, the patients will either be discharged or admitted as inpatients. The goal of the new unit is to expedite the care of low-risk patients and quickly identify those who need additional or extensive cardiology evaluation. Physicians’ orders for patients in the center will be fast-tracked – initiated within 30 minutes – and the patients will be given priority in testing areas such as nuclear medicine, which is used to diagnose heart disease. Jewish Hospital is the only hospital in Louisville with an accredited chest pain center designated by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. For more information, contact Barbara Mackovic at barbara.mackovic@jhsmh.org.
