"If we can get the patients to the cath lab, and get the clogged arteries to open back up, and get the blood flowing to the damaged part of the heart, we're minimizing the injury," Jones said. "There's only so much time to open those blood vessels before permanent damage sets in."

Montgomery County Fire/EMS Major Robin Barber has been instrumental in setting up CODE STEMI.

"It's going to help heart attack patients tremendously," he said. "It's going to cut off 60 minutes from diagnosis to treatment, as a rough estimate. For a community of our size to be able to offer this is overwhelming. People living in Montgomery County deserve access to definitive care just as much as people living in the urban areas do."

The program was started with funding from the Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling Foundation, Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling and the Montgomery County Fire/EMS. CODE STEMI is a partnership between the Montgomery County Fire/EMS, Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling's emergency department, the Air Methods Kentucky helicopter service, and the Lexington Clinic, which supplies 24/7 on-call interventional cardiologists for Saint Joseph Hospital's cath labs.

Dr. Allen Cornish is the section head of cardiology at the Lexington Clinic. To this physician, "CODE STEMI is unusual for rural communities," he said. "This will not only save lives, but will also help preserve the quality of life of our patients by reducing the amount of heart injury.

I think eventually other cities and counties will be emulating this program."

Jamie Fraley, R.N., B.S.N., C.N.S., the manager of the emergency department at Saint Joseph - Mount Sterling, was in on the planning of CODE STEMI from the start. The nurse knows how much training was required for every member of the team to work together. And she knows how much it has meant to heart attack patients.

Her hope is that the program can be extended to Bath, Menifee, Powell and Wolfe counties, she said.

"We are thrilled that it's finally up and going," Fraley said. "Everybody's onboard with it. It really works well. It's going to make our community a better place to live—with better access to health care.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

 |   |   |   |   |