In a post last year, I republished an email that Lincoln Fire & Rescue EMS Supervisor Scott Wiebe sent out to his coworkers to acknowledge great work as part of the team effort involved in caring for patients with ST elevated myocardial infarctions--a potentially deadly heart attack.
Scott updated the information for the third quarter of 2013 yesterday. The average time from our firefighter/paramedics arriving at the patient's side to the deployment of the first device at the hospital during the quarter was 56 minutes. The guidelines of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend a goal of 90 minutes.
That's a mighty fine time in an emergency where quick is good.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
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3 comments:
It would seem that the sooner a patient gets to the hospital, the better. Therefore, it seems odd to have a goal of 90 minutes, especially since we see here in Lincoln it can be done in significantly less time. I'd think you'd want your goal to be something realistically attainable, but faster than what is currently being achieved. I suppose, given my limited medical knowledge, that it's possible there is no advantage to beating the 90 minute goal, in which case...never mind.
Excellent work by LFD, as always.
Steve,
Ninty minutes is the target set by the ACC/AHA. We are obviously doing a lot better on that in Lincoln, a testament to an excellent system of care in our community. We may still have some time to squeeze yet! Its all about continuous improvement. The American Heart Association has a lot of resources for communities who are interested in improving their performance, at this website.
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