Dearborn Fire Dept., Oakwood set New Standard
The Dearborn Fire Department and Oakwood Healthcare System are using the latest technology to treat cardiac patients in as little as 40 minutes—less than half the national standard time.
And that’s good news for Dearborn residents because the faster a cardiac patient can receive treatment, the better his or her odds of making a full recovery—without long-term damage to the most important muscle in the human body.
Using Bluetooth technology, paramedic crews can transmit data directly to the cell phones of hospital physicians, who can analyze it wherever they are and respond accordingly. The information can be transmitted in as little as zero point-three (0.3) seconds, said Jeff Beutner, Dearborn Fire Department Battalion Chief, Emergency Medical Services.
“The hospital is looking at the same thing our paramedics are looking at,” he said. “In essence, we’ve not only brought the emergency room to the patient, we’ve also brought cardiology into the fold, too.”
Whether EMS is evaluating patients in their living room or in the ambulance, Beutner said, it’s like “we’ve got the emergency room physician and the cardiologist standing right behind us. It’s really having a huge impact on patient care.”
The concept is having such a positive impact that the Dearborn Fire Department and the Oakwood Center for Heart and Vascular Services wanted to spread the word to medical personnel in other communities.
The two organizations recently teamed up to present a two-day conference at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn as part of their ongoing partnership to provide superior patient care.
More than 450 nurses, paramedics and other healthcare professionals from southeast Michigan and Canada attended the “Rapid Recognition & Treatment of Heart Attack Patients” seminar. The new procedure was a main focus of the seminar, which also featured presentations and case studies from Oakwood physicians.
The goal is to reduce the time between initial contact with paramedics to the operating room for patients who need an emergency angioplasty cardiac procedure, which is referred to as door-to-balloon time.
Sending timely information to the physicians allows the hospital to activate the Cardiac Catherization Lab earlier as patients are arriving, which results in Oakwood having one of the fastest procedure times in southeast Michigan.
“It allows the information that we’re gathering in the field to hit the hospital in real time,” said Beutner. “Before I’ve even make radio contact, or phone contact with the hospital, I’ve sent the message off to the people that need to know. It’s really, really significant.”
As the technology continues to evolve, it will result in enhanced care to patients before arriving at the hospital.
“In the end, the patient benefits from the teamwork between EMS and Oakwood Hospital, and it is this teamwork that is saving lives across southeast Michigan,” said Beutner.
December 29th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
As a person with heart disease I’m heartened to hear the great news about the Dearborn Fire Dept. and the Oakwood emergency center. Though my hospital and cardiologist are Beaumont, it’s good to know that as a Dearborn resident I have such rapid cardiac response teams minutes from my house. Here’s hoping I never have to use them. And some fools call it “Croakwood” hospital!
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:59 pm
I know one “fool” who went into Oakwood with a broken arm and died. Another fool went in for a colonoscopy and almost died of a perforation. And just a few weeks ago another fool went in to have his coratid arteries checked and is not on dialysis 3 times a week because too much dye was administered. I hope you never need them too Rob.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:37 pm
I have to disagree, I have been admitted to Oakwood a few times and have received excellent care and services from doctors, nursing, housekeeping, etc.