Time is muscle. Which is why Lima Memorial works with local EMT squads to have 12-lead EKG results taken in the field and sent over phone lines directly to the Emergency Center. The EKG is done and with the push of a cell phone button is instantly transmitted to Lima Memorial.
When the patient arrives, an emergency physician has already reviewed the test and called in the cath lab team, if needed; setting the procedure in motion before the patient even enters the door.
This much needed service allows the patient to arrive to a fully-staffed cath lab. According to Deb Kill, director of LMHS’s Chest Pain Center, the EMT staff is a crucial component to improving this ‘door to cath’ time. “We are able to get a quicker diagnosis and therefore can offer quicker treatment because it gives us time to get our staff ready,” she said.
The EKG itself only takes a couple of minutes to complete, but the time savings is seen when it comes to setting the cath lab team in motion. The ultimate goal, according to Carlton Randall , LMHS’s ER clinical educator, is to have patients come in and go directly to the cath lab, entirely passing the Emergency Center.
“Time is muscle,” said Randall. “When it comes to a heart attack a minute can be the difference between life and death.” According to Randall, on at least two occasions when a patient has coded in the field they were able to be taken directly up to the cath lab, bypassing the Emergency Center, and thus saving their lives.
This capability is now becoming standard throughout the country and is highly suggested when institutions are looking for accreditation. LMHS was the second in the state of Ohio to become certified as a Chest Pain Center and is now a Cycle Two Chest Pain Center.
