Four hospitals in the Northeast Georgia Medical Center system have been reaccredited to provide “life-saving heart and vascular care,” officials said Thursday.
The designation recognizes the NGMC hospitals as locations where patients can receive specialized care when experiencing a heart attack or cardiac arrest. The four hospitals that earned accreditation have been recognized across three different levels as emergency cardiac care centers (ECCC).
NGMC Gainesville was reaccredited as a Level 1 ECCC and NGMC Braselton achieved Level 2. NGMC locations in both Lumpkin and Barrow achieved Level 3. Reports from hospital officials indicate NGMC Habersham is currently in the process of obtaining accreditation.
“Our teams work hard each and every day to ensure every patient who comes in with heart attack or cardiac arrest symptoms is able to leave the hospital feeling better than when they arrived,” Dr. Habib Samady, MD, interventional cardiologist and president of the Georgia Heart Institute said. “Earning this reaccreditation is further proof of our dedication to caring for the hearts of this region.”
Hospitals looking to become accredited have to go through an evaluation process that includes site inspections as well as the assessment of emergency cardiac care processes and equipment. After those steps are complete, the Georgia Department of Public Health reportedly ranks the capabilities of the healthcare facility.
- Level 1 hospitals are able to perform open-heart surgery and interventional cardiac catheterizations, according to medical officials.
- Level 2 hospitals perform interventional cardiac catheterizations.
- Level 3 hospitals are able to stabilize patients until they are transported to a Level 1 or Level 2 facility.
The Northeast Georgia Health System in 2020 became the first health system in the Peach State to receive an ECCC designation, Public Relations Representative Layne Saliba said.
NGMC has been serving communities since 1951. They currently have hospitals in Gainesville, Braselton, Winder, Dahlonega and Demorest.
