CUMBERLAND MEDICAL CENTER, SAINT THOMAS HEALTH SERVICES ANNOUNCE CARDIAC AFFILIATION

Saint Thomas Health Services, Nashville, and Cumberland Medical Center, Crossville, have expanded their cardiac affiliation in a way that will result in adding to the high quality cardiac care now provided for patients in Cumberland County and the surrounding counties.

The new joint initiative provides for Saint Thomas Health Services and Cumberland Medical Center to work cooperatively with the Saint Thomas Chest Pain Center at Cumberland Medical Center. The Chest Pain Center was surveyed for accreditation by the Society of Chest Pain Centers on March 28 and 29, 2007. A dedication for the Chest Pain Center was held on Wednesday, June 27, 2007. The new initiative follows the joint development with Saint Thomas of a full time state of the art cardiac and vascular catheterization center at Cumberland Medical Center. That facility opened in February of 2003.

“Cumberland Medical Center is a great partner in the effort to provide enhanced cardiac care to the Upper Cumberland Region,” said Jim Houser, President and CEO of Saint Thomas Health Services. “We have the number one cardiac program in the State of Tennessee and we are among the top 10% in the nation for cardiac care quality, volumes, and outcome. We are excited to further expand our partnership with Cumberland Medical Center and cardiologists in that community to provide superior cardiac care and reduce unnecessary death from heart disease.”

“We sought Saint Thomas Health Services to establish a strategic affiliation that will result in expanded preventive, diagnostic and treatment opportunities for those who suffer from heart disease,” said Jim McMackin, President/CEO of Cumberland Medical Center. “The Saint Thomas name is synonymous with heart care and we are particularly enthusiastic about the opening of our newly accredited Chest Pain Center in partnership with Saint Thomas.”

In 2004, the Saint Thomas Health Services Chest Pain Centers at Saint Thomas Hospital and Baptist Hospital, Nashville, and Middle Tennessee Medical Center, Murfreesboro, all received accredited status from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. Recently, all three hospitals have undergone surveys and successfully reached Cycle II status from the Chest Pain Society.

Key areas in which a Chest Pain Center must demonstrate expertise include:
• Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
• Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients in a prompt and systematic manner
• Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
• Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
• Ensuring Chest Pain Center staff competency and training
• Maintaining organizational commitment and support
• Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
• Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack

Saint Thomas Health Services has similar cardiac affiliations with Williamson Medical Center (Franklin), Livingston Regional Hospital (Livingston), Southern Tennessee Medical Center (Winchester), Crockett Hospital (Lawrenceburg) and Henry County Medical Center, Paris Tennessee. These accredited chest pain centers, along with centers at STHS hospitals, form the Saint Thomas Chest Pain Network, the first network of free-standing, but affiliated chest pain centers in the nation.
























Established in 1950, Cumberland Medical Center is a not-for-profit regional medical center with 149 private patient rooms and 20 skilled nursing facility beds. Of those 149, 12 are ICU beds and 12 are Maternity Suites. CMC has added a five-story tower which includes a new food court and dining area, volunteer services and gift shop and all new private patient rooms. Fully accredited by the Joint Commission, the acute care hospital offers all private rooms as well as specialized services not usually found in the rural medical system. CMC has over 1,100 employees and 75 active staff physicians.

Saint Thomas Health Services is a faith-based ministry with 7,500 associates serving Middle Tennessee. Saint Thomas Health Services consists of four hospitals: Baptist and Saint Thomas in Nashville; Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro, and Hickman Community Hospital in Centerville. It is a member of Ascension Health, a Catholic organization that is the largest not-for-profit health system in the United States.