Chest Pain Centers & Emergency Departments

UofL Health – Jewish Hospital is recognized as a Platinum Performance Achievement winner by  the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry. To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, UofL Health – Jewish Hospital has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry for two consecutive years and performed at the top level for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

UofL Health – Jewish Hospital performs approximately 500 heart catheterizations related to heart attacks each year and has fewer deaths than the national average due to the higher standard of care.

In 2016, UofL Health – Jewish Hospital became the first hospital in Kentucky to receive a full Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), an Institute of the American College of Cardiology.

CPC-accredited hospitals demonstrate better survival rates and lower readmission rates for heart attack and heart failure patients. An Accredited Chest Pain Center’s (CPC) evidence-based, protocol-driven and systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. Accredited facilities better monitor patients when it is not initially clear whether or not a patient is having a coronary event. Such monitoring by our cardiologists ensures patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

UofL Health Emergency Rooms provide faster registration and shorter wait times, with a 30 minute or less door to doc commitment. Offering a faster bedside triage and faster provider assessment, diagnostics, and treatment. All of the UofL Health Emergency Rooms are able and equipped to provide Advanced Cardiac Care; visit one of these 7 locations below if you are experiencing any heart disease-related symptoms.

  • Jewish Hospital – an Accredited Chest Pain Center (proven exceptional competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms and have primary PCI available 24/7 every day of the year).
  • Mary & Elizabeth Hospital
  • Shelbyville Hospital
  • UofL Hospital
  • South Hospital
  • Medical Center East
  • Medical Center Southwest

24 Hour STEMI Coverage

STEMI is an acronym meaning “ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction,” which is a type of severe heart attack. While all heart attacks are serious, those considered a STEMI – which involve a total artery blockage – require the quickest treatment. Because of the total blockage, STEMI heart attacks cause a rapid loss of heart muscle that cannot be regenerated. In these situations, time saved is muscle saved.

While a heart attack patient is still on the way to the emergency department, our physicians can get the vital data they need to make a diagnosis. If the heart attack requires intervention, we can activate our cardiac cath team immediately, allowing us to provide lifesaving care faster than ever before. It's all possible because of the STEMI network created by UofL Health – Jewish Hospital and regional EMS providers.

Through our STEMI network, UofL Health emergency departments at Jewish Hospital receive EKG results transmitted wirelessly by regional EMS providers when they suspect that a patient is having a STEMI in the field. Once the emergency department receives the patient’s EKG, and a total blockage is suspected, the emergency physician will then activate the cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab) team. When EMS arrives at UofL Health, hospital staff will transport the patient directly to the cath lab, allowing physicians to clear the blockage sooner. It ensures the area's quickest access to care that can stop a heart attack in progress.

So why trust your heart to anyone but UofL Health?

Cardiac Observation Unit

When patients present at the UofL Health – Jewish Hospital – Emergency Department with symptoms suggesting heart-related problems they will be expedited to the Cardiac Observation Unit.

Potential symptoms include:

  • Chest pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Dizziness

Patients that present to the Cardiac Observation Unit will be expedited through processes to rule out serious underlying issues such as stress tests, echocardiogram, diuresis and rate control.

If the patient has a positive result, a cardiologist at the Heart Hospital will determine next steps.

If a patient experiences chest pain, send them to Jewish Hospital – Emergency Department where they will be expedited into the Cardiac Observation Unit if eligible.

Heart Attack Care Locations

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