Parma Hospital Sets New Record With 14-Minute STEMIs

Physician engagement and cooperation of EMS departments are critical to fast door-to-balloon times. In less than one month’s time this summer, two cardiologists at Parma Community General Hospital broke the hospital’s previous record of 15 minutes with 14-minute Code STEMI times. In both cases, the cardiologists on call received EKGs from the squad before the patient’s arrival in the emergency department, and the medics brought the patients directly to the cardiac catheterization lab. Both cases occurred during daytime hours, although even if they had occurred during nights or weekends, all staff members live within 30 minutes of the hospital and respond quickly if they are on call. “Very quick door-to-balloon times require a great deal of cooperation between the rescue squads and the ancillary staff at the hospital,” says Gerald Burma, MD, who, on July 9th, performed a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on a 48-year-old man with a right coronary occlusion. “Before the patient gets here, we know something about their history and have a field EKG. The rescue squads have been cooperative at coordinating the patient’s trip down to the cath lab. In many cases, the patient stays on the squad gurney until they are transferred to the table in the cath lab. We call these ‘Touch-n-Go STEMIs.’ In minutes, we have the necessary labs from our point-of-care testing device and admissions paperwork is done.” In the second case, on August 4th, Jamie Cohen, MD, performed a PCI on a 55-year-old man. The responding squad had a choice of nearby hospitals for the patient suffering from an acute MI, but Parma Hospital’s reputation for rapid-response STEMIs gave it the edge. “The squad opted to come to Parma Hospital, and they made the right call,” says Cath Lab Manager Steve Neylon, RN. “We continually communicate our times so the medics realize how integral their role is to successful outcomes. Dr. Burma and Dr. Cohen are among our cardiologists who are phenomenal in their enthusiasm and insistence on treating every Code STEMI with vigor and urgency.”

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