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Speeding
Treatment
For Heart
Attack Victims
Cardiac
Level One Protocol
During
a heart attack each minute matters in a race against
time. Heart attack patients who are diagnosed and
quickly receive treatment to open their blocked arteries
have the best results, according to recent research.
Looking to improve patient
outcomes, Deaconess Medical Center, Sacred Heart Medical
Center and Northwest MedStar have partnered to develop
and implement the Cardiac Level One Protocol at
hospitals throughout the region.
“This is an exciting new
concept,” says Dr. Ralph Monteagudo, Lincoln Hospital
Chief of Staff. “We are doctors in two separate
facilities dedicating ourselves to making the best plan
for patients experiencing a heart attack. We want to
help people understand that driving 35-70 minutes to
Spokane with chest pain is dangerous at best. They
should come to the closest hospital first for
stabilization and diagnosis.”
“In a cardiac emergency,
time is a deadly foe,” continued Lincoln Hospital CEO
Tom Martin. “Because we live in a rural area, the clock
is already against us.”
The new protocol sends
patients to rural hospitals first. When a rural patient
arrives at their local ER with heart attack symptoms
there is an established system for diagnosis, treatment,
and if needed, transport and coordination of services by
Northwest MedStar to the appropriate medical center -
all within the goal of getting most patients from the ER
to angioplasty in 90 minutes.
With a flight team on the
way, Northwest MedStar, the cardiology team, physicians
and hospitals continue coordinating the patient’s care,
ensuring the patient not only gets quick cardiac care,
but that they receive the best and most appropriate
treatment for their situation.
The Cardiac Level One
Protocol continues to expand and currently includes the
following hospitals who have worked with Deaconess
Medical Center, Sacred Heart Medical Center and
Northwest MedStar for coordination and training:
Washington:
-
St. Joseph’s Hospital,
Chewelah, WA
-
Tri-State Memorial,
Clarkston, WA
-
Whitman Hospital and
Medical Center, Colfax, WA
-
Mount Carmel Hospital,
Colville, WA
-
Lincoln Hospital,
Davenport, WA
-
Newport Community
Hospital, Newport, WA
-
Pullman Regional
Hospital, Pullman, WA
-
East Adams Rural
Hospital, Ritzville, WA
-
Valley Hospital &
Medical Center, Spokane, WA
Idaho:
-
Saint Mary’s Hospital &
Clinic, Cottonwood, ID
-
Syringa General
Hospital, Grangeville, ID
-
Saint Joseph’s Regional
Medical Center, Lewiston, ID
-
Gritman Medical Center,
Moscow, ID
-
Clearwater Valley
Hospital, Orofino, ID
For more information visit
www.nwmedstar.org.
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