EMERGENCY STEMI PROGRAM SAVES LIVES

GLENWOOD EMERGENCY CHEST PAIN CENTER & PAFFORD AIR ONE

When youre having a heart attack, where you choose to go for treatment could be one of the most critical decisions of your life. At the Glenwood ER and Chest Pain Center, expertise in emergency care and heart care are brought together to rapidly assess and treat patients to reduce the risk of a heart attack related death.

 Well-coordinated processes help us move the patient quickly from the assessment to treatment phase. Your heart attack treatment may indicate that you must go straight from the emergency department to the cardiac catheterization lab to be treated with an angioplasty procedure where a balloon is used to open blocked arteries. In most hospitals, getting a patient from the emergency room door to the cardiac catheterization lab takes 90 minutes or more. Because of our advanced technology, highly trained staff, and time saving protocols, Glenwood heart patients are moving from the ER to the cardiac catheterization lab in 65 minutes or less on average. Seeing patients quickly is vital to providing optimal patient care, said Ron Elder, GRMC CEO. We are striving to provide a high level of care, while addressing the growing problem of long emergency room waits. At Glenwood Regional Medical Center your emergency is our emergency. EMERGENCY STEMI PROGRAM Glenwood Regional Medical Center and Pafford AIR ONE have formed a partnership to implement safe and rapid transportation of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) patients from rural hospitals throughout the region to Glenwoods accredited Chest Pain Center. The resulting partnership will significantly improve patient outcomes and increase survival rates for STEMI patients. Each year, it is estimated that thousands of patients in Louisiana require immediate cardiac intervention during an Acute Myocardial Infarction. A STEMI is the most severe and common type of heart attack, in which the coronary artery is blocked by a clot and as a result, the heart muscle being supplied by the affected artery starts to die. Rapid transport to GRMC, which is capable of performing percutaneous intervention (PCI), commonly referred to as angioplasty, is crucial to the survivability of a heart attack. Experts say the sooner that a patient

is treated to relieve the blockage causing the STEMI, the better the outcome. This is why transport by AIR ONE and the partnership with Glenwood are so important. Glenwoods door to balloon time (measured from the time the patient enters the hospital, to the time the balloon is inflated in the coronary artery) for STEMI patients continue to be under 90 minutes (the national benchmark), with some less than 60 minutes. Pafford AIR ONE can have patients from most rural hospitals in North Louisiana directly to the GRMC Cath Lab in less than 90 minutes. Patients that cannot reach PCI in time will be delivered clot busting drugs by the Pafford AIR ONE Flight Medic and Nurse. Ron Elder, CEO at Glenwood Regional Medical Center, said, This partnership ensures that patients with chest pain who need advanced care in a cardiac catherization lab are taken care of as safely and quickly as possible. The STEMI service along with our Level III Chest Pain Center, state-of-the-art cardiac cauterization labs and Hybrid OR benefits the citizens of Northeast Louisiana and will save lives. Our cardiac care professionals, from cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons to operating rooms technicians offer the quality of care youve come to expect from Glenwood. Our goal is to transport as quickly and safely as possible so that as a team we can beat the national benchmark for door to balloon time and give the patient their best chance of survival, said Keith Carter, Program Director of Pafford AIR ONE. AIR ONEs exclusive protocols with Glenwood Cardiology can save lives. DOOR TO BALLOON TIME Before the STEMI Program was put into place, only cardiologists could activate the cath lab. If someone came into the ER with chest pain, they would get triaged and worked up by a nurse. An ECG would be performed and presented to an ER doctor for evaluation. If he or she thought the patient was having a STEMI, they

would call a cardiologist to confirm. If a STEMI was verified, then the cardiologist would be called in and the cath lab would be activated. Now Pafford can call a Glenwood ER doctor and ask for field activation by following a STEMI Flow Chart protocol. With earlier activations, door-to-balloon times have drastically decreased. The difference is improved performance times, and most importantly, improved outcomes. For more information about Glenwoods emergency services and fully accredited Level III Chest Pain Center call 1-877-726-WELL or visit www.GRMC.com.