May is a special month. Why? We celebrate EMS Week, which is May 20 to 26 this year. EMS providers are the first point of contact for many, if not most, of a hospital’s critical patients; they are the front lines of health care. During some of patients’ most vulnerable, stressful and painful moments, EMS providers offer the first chance for hope when life is fragile. When EMS and hospital teams form true partnerships, patients can benefit.

 

This is the case at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, which has been using an advanced EMS communication, the LIFENET System, since 2008. The LIFENET System offers critical additional minutes to prepare the hospital’s team for appropriate intervention even before the patient arrives. EMS and the hospital work together to help patients get the cardiac treatment they need quicker.

 

With this technology and collaboration, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center has been able to reduce time to treatment, known as door-to-balloon time (D2B), for patients who experience a dangerous type of heart attack known as STEMI or ST segment elevation myocardial infarction- the more severe type that is identified by an electrocardiogram (ECG) test. During a STEMI, the coronary artery is completely blocked by a blood clot and essentially all the heart muscle being supplied by the artery begins to die.

 

The American Heart Association (AHA) estimates that close to 400,000 people in the U.S. experience STEMI every year. The quicker patients receive treatment, which may include balloon angioplasty and stent placement in the cardiac catheterization lab, the more likely they are to have a positive outcome.

 

D2B is a measurement in emergency cardiac care that starts with the patient’s arrival in the emergency department and ends when a catheter is inserted, restoring blood flow to the heart. The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recommend a guideline of treatment in 90 minutes or less. Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center is consistently performing with a D2B time of less than 60 minutes. Much of this success can be attributed to the hospital’s collaboration with local EMS and both teams’ utilization of the LIFENET System.

 

Hospitals depend on EMS teams; they are a critical piece of the life-saving care that they can provide, especially in cardiac cases. During EMS Week and throughout the year, Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center recognizes its EMS teams for the tremendous front line work they do to care for patients and increase their chances for improved outcomes.