About Us

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Recognition: Gold Seal of Approval™ for health care quality with the awarding of Disease-Specific Care certification for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and heart failure

How we earned it: HeartLink volunteered for an extensive, unannounced, on-site evaluation by a team of reviewers from The Joint Commission. Our program was evaluated against Joint Commission standards through assessing our processes and our ability to evaluate and improve care, as well as interviews with patients and staff.

How it sets us apart: This certification affirms HeartLink's commitment to educating patients and their families, including supplying the tools they need to truly be involved in their care and manage their disease.

HeartLink vs. competitors: Our heart failure clinic patients have a 5 percent rate of 30-day readmission to the hospital. The national average is 26 percent.

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Recognition: Full Chest Pain Center Cycle III accreditation with PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention, or angioplasty); this is the highest honor available through the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

How we earned it: We developed a sophisticated partnership between the Cardiology Department, the Emergency Department and Emergency Medical Services with a systematic approach to patient management. This coordinated response allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack — when treatments are most effective — and to better monitor patients when it's not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation ensures patients are not sent home too early or needlessly admitted.

How it sets us apart: The Medical Center of Plano was the first hospital in Collin County (and the third hospital in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex) to earn this designation.

HeartLink vs. competitors: "STEMI Time" represents an average of our hospital's STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, a type of deadly heart attack) cases over the past 52 weeks for which data is available. The term is defined as the time it took to re-establish blood flow from the time the patient arrived at our Emergency Room. The American College of Radiology, the American Heart Association and The Joint Commission have established that this should occur in 90 minutes or less. The Medical Center of Plano's average STEMI Time is 41 minutes. But we take it one step further. Because our STEMI Time is so quick, we also measure the time it took to re-establish blood flow from the moment the patient dialed 911. Thanks to a close partnership with Plano Emergency Medical Services, our average time for that scenario is 62 minutes -- which is still 28 minutes faster than the national STEMI Time benchmark.

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Recognition: Accreditation for HeartLink's echocardiography lab

How we earned it: Our facility was reviewed by an independent agency, which recognized HeartLink's commitment to quality testing for the diagnosis of heart disease.

How it sets us apart: Our echocardiography lab is the first in Collin County (and one of the first 1,000 in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico) to receive this accreditation, which validates our commitment to thorough and quality testing.

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Recognition: Certification

How we earned it: The AACVPR State/Regional Certification Committee reviewed our program to ensure we meet the essential standards of care described in the Fourth Edition Guidelines for Cardiac Rehabilitation and Secondary Prevention Programs.

How it sets us apart: The Medical Center of Plano was the first hospital in Collin County to meet and exceed the criteria for AACVPR certification.

Designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas

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Recognition: Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care®

How we earned it: We met a stringent set of evidence-based clinical criteria, developed in collaboration with expert physicians and medical organizations, including the American College of Cardiology and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

How it sets us apart: We are the only cardiac care program in Collin County to receive this distinction.

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Recognition: Premium® Specialty Center Designation

How we earned it: We met rigorous quality criteria based on nationally recognized medical standards and expert guidance from industry-leading organizations, such as the National Committee on Quality Assurance, the American College of Cardiology and the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance. United HealthCare reviewed HeartLink's cardiac care, cardiac surgery and electrophysiology services, including patient cases and outcomes.

How it sets us apart: This designation is another example of how HeartLink provides the most advanced cardiac care available.

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Recognition: Accreditation in nuclear cardiology

How we earned it: Our program was evaluated by a team of board-certified physicians and medical physicists. They assessed the quality of our staff and technology.

How it sets us apart: This accreditation demonstrates The Medical Center of Plano's commitment to quality patient care. It provides confidence that our personnel and equipment have met or exceeded the American College of Radiology's rigorous standards.

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Recognition: “Silver Plus” Performance Award from the American Heart Association for the hospital’s success in using AHA’s “Get With The Guidelines – HF” program to improve quality of care for heart failure patients.

How we earned it: TMCP followed treatment guidelines in certain key measures at least 85 percent of the time, and maintained this performance level for at least 12 months. The award is current, and reflects additional 75 percent compliance with module-specific quality measures for at least 12 consecutive months.

How it sets us apart: TMCP is recognized during American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and is listed by name in Circulation and in the “Best Hospitals” issue of U.S. News & World Report.

HeartLink vs. competitors: “Get With The Guidelines” recognition is shared by fewer than 10 percent of all hospitals in the vast region between I-635/LBJ Expressway and southern Oklahoma.

 

In addition to the cardiology-focused recognitions above, The Medical Center of Plano has also achieved the following:

• Level II Trauma Center designation from the Texas Department of State Health Services
• American Stroke Association, Get With The Guidelines — Stroke Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Department of Health Texas Ten-Step Hospital
• All Women'sLink nurses nationally accredited by the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses
• The Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center Certification
• Disease-Specific Care Certification from The Joint Commission for the hospital's diabetes-care program
• No. 1 in HCA employee satisfaction; HCA high-performance facility
• Studer Group Fire Starter of the Month Award
• U.S. Health & Human Services Medal of Honor for Organ Donation
• U.T. Southwestern Transplant Services Center Leadership Circle Award
• Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence
• One of the top large businesses in Dallas Business Journal's Best Places to Work
• Consistently recognized among DFW's Great 100 Nurses and the Nursing Excellence Awards
• Johnson & Johnson Best Place to Have a Baby
• Magnet Recognition - American Nurses Credentialing Center
• Named one of the nation's 100 "Best Places to Work" by Modern Healthcare magazine