Policy Proposal Verde Valley Medical Center

A policy proposal to improve cardiac care at Verde Valley Medical Center by meeting benchmarks for faster ECG and aspirin delivery to enhance patient outcomes.

Alice Edwards
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Policy Proposal: Verde Valley Medical Center1Policy Proposal:Verde Valley Medical CenterElisa McGinnisCapella University NHS-FPX6004: Healthcare Law and PolicyDr. Tiffani ArmstrongFebruary 5, 2025

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Policy Proposal: Verde Valley Medical Center2AbstractVerde Valley Medical Center (VVMC) is the local hospital servicing all of the VerdeValley. The Verde Valley is located in the heart of Arizona and consists of 9 towns;CampVerde, Clarkdale, Cornville, Cottonwood, Jerome, Lake Montezuma, Rimrock, Sedona,and the Village of Oak Creek (Mitropoulos, 2022). Over the years VVMC has undergonemany changes including a name change, it was once known as Marcus J. Lawrence (MJL).VVMA was purchased by Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH) and given a facelift and itsnew name of Verde Valley Medical Center.It was during this time that the reputation beganto change and a more positive light was shone on the organization. Part of the changes meantthat new departments and specialties were brought in to help change the poor reputation thatMJL had on the community for so long.One of the biggest changes was the cardiology department, until this point anyonewho came to the ER with chest pain was transferred to a nearby hospital (Northern ArizonaHealthcare, 2025). Bringing on a cardiology department meant that those who experiencedchest pain or have some sort of heart related issue can now be seen locally and quickly.Bringing on a new department has not been without its share of problems and learningexperiences.According to the dashboard VVMC has some room for growth and improvement as tohow quickly they are providing those experiencing chest pain with an ECG and aspirin.Benchmarks for cardiology related issues have specific goals that are identified by local,state, and federal governments in order to improve cardiac patient outcomes. Thesebenchmarks are necessary to help cardiac patients achieve their optimal levels of health whileidentifying the onset of a heart attack. In order to ensure that benchmarks are met newpolicies will need to be made.

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Policy Proposal: Verde Valley Medical Center3Verde Valley Medical Center cardiac evaluationHospitalArizonaNationwideAspirin within 24 hrs of arrivalNA95%95%Average time to receive ECG10 min8 min7 minThe healthcare compare website looks at each hospital and analyzes their benchmarksagainst other hospitals both on a state and national level. This report analyzed thebenchmarks for cardiac care. You can see in the chart above that W M Cis right in line withthe administration of an ECG according to federal guidelines but is not as quick as otherhospitals. When it comes to the administration of aspirin they do not show their time, thisdoes not necessarily mean that they are not providing aspirin within the federal timeline. Itcan mean that their documentation is lacking or that there is not enough data for them to getan accurate time. Cardiac issues are critical and when they are not caught quick enough andcan lead to serious complications and oftentimes death. When a person comes to the EDstating that they are experiencing chest pain it is crucial that they be taken seriously andreceive an ECG within 10 minutes and aspirin quickly after that. Patients should receive theirinitial ECG within 10 minutes of arrival (Buelt et al., 2023). Out of those that receive theirinitial ECG up to 6% with cardiac ischemia are discharged from the ED, in order to preventthis a second ECG needs to be given with a higher index of suspicion in order to ensure thatthe patient is safe to discharge home.Proposed PolicyIt is necessary to create a policy that will ensure that a process is in place for qualityassurance for patients experiencing chest pain. It is vital that a policy be put into effect andimplemented in order to improve cardiac care by meeting benchmark goals. Evidence showsthat the door-to-ECG time (DTE) of cardiac emergencies is crucial for diagnosing ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)(Maliszewski et al., 2020). For example,
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