Paramedics using the latest science in emergency medicine while transporting patients to Broward Health facilities provide improved patient care and outcomes. Advances in emergency medicine are evident at Broward Healths two stroke centers in Broward County, and are also noticeable through new technologies being used for cardiac and hypothermic resuscitation.
Demonstrating the use of AutoPulse at Fire Station 37 in Lauderdale Lakes are (l-r) Lieutenant Steve Rybak and Captain Sandi Paine.
Broward General Medical Center (BGMC) and North Broward Medical Center provide immediate stroke resuscitation from highly specialized Brain Attack Teams. The stroke programs offer comprehensive stroke care from the emergency department through hospitalization, rehab and outpatient services. Both Broward General and North Broward Medical Centers have been designated by the Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Centers. This recognition offers patients a way to identify which hospitals offer the best possible outcomes for stroke care. BGMC is a 2008 recipient of the American Stroke Associations Get With The GuidelinesSMStroke Bronze Performance Achievement Award. BGMCs stroke program is committed to providing superior patient care and treatment through maintaining nationally accepted standards and recommendations. “The stroke program is a collaboration of some amazing and talented people. When the goal is the possibility of decreasing stroke, the leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death, the hard work is worth the effort,” said Norma Vesey, MS, BSN, RN, PCCN, stroke program coordinator.
Paramedics bringing patients to BGMC employ the use of the AutoPulse, an automated CPR device that electronically replicates chest compressions without the use of hands. This portable external cardiac support pump essentially wraps around the chest of the patient and helps to better circulate blood. The benefits to using this machine are that it delivers cardiac compressions that are more efficient than human-administered CPR.
Another medical advancement paramedics use is the application of induced hypothermia to preserve brain function of cardiac arrest patients. The utilization of hypothermic resuscitation in heart attack patients has demonstrated when induced prior to reperfusion, it significantly reduced overall tissue damage to the heart and brain. In a recent study, 21 of 43 patients who were administered hypothermia survived and had a positive outcome as compared to 9 of 34 who were left at room temperature without induced cooling.
Through the use of cutting-edge technology combined with best medical practices, paramedics provide pre-hospital care to patients arriving to any Broward Health facilities with the most advanced treatments available to ensure the best possible outcome. “Were seeing excellent outcomes with the patients who are treated with these new technologies- in some cases they are actually able to walk out of the hospital and return home,” said Dr. Nabil El Sanadi, Chief of Emergency Medicine for Broward Health.
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