Hospital, EMS reducing heart attack response times with technology
An IU Health Goshen Release
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Hospital, EMS reducing heart attack response times with technology
August 21, 2012
GOSHEN, Ind.—Indiana University Health Goshen Hospital is partnering with multiple emergency medical services (EMS) jurisdictions to reduce response times for heart attack patients. The hospital purchased LifeNet devices for EMS units in Goshen, Middlebury, Bristol, Oslow, Concord, and Nappanee. These devices allow instant transmission of electrocardiograms from the patient to the hospital, and can quickly activate a “Code STEMI,” which alerts cardiologists that a heart attack patient is on the way to the Emergency Department.
LifeNet utilizes cell phone technology to communicate with the Emergency Department, and to connect the Emergency Department with cardiologists. In the past, this was a multi-step process that took longer to execute, increasing “door-to-balloon” times—the amount of time it takes to treat a heart attack patient once they enter the Emergency Department. The longer it takes to open a blocked artery, the more damage the heart sustains. Lower door-to-balloon times save lives.
IU Health Goshen has among the lowest door-to-balloon times in the nation according to the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, the American Heart Association, and other leading cardiovascular organizations. Data released in April 2012 put IU Health Goshen in the 99th percentile for door-to-balloon times, measured against thousands of hospitals in the United States. The national average for door-to-balloon times is about 78 minutes. Goshen has achieved times as low as 19 minutes.
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