Beech Tree News Network

The Butler County EMS unit was given an award on February 26, 2013 for outstanding work in the care of STEMI patients, as well as their contribution to the Medical Center's regional STEMI network.

STEMI, short for ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction is a very serious type of heart attack in which the coronary artery is entirely blocked by a blood clot. As a result, all the heart muscle that is supplied by that artery begins to die.

The Medical Center has established a network for first responders to more efficiently transport and treat STEMI patients. One of the primary goals of the system is to lower the D2B (door-to-balloon) time for the patients. Door-to-balloon refers to the total amount of time between arriving at the emergency department and the catheter being inserted in the cath lab. The lower D2B time, the greater the chance of survival.

The Society of Cardiovascular Care set a national goal of 90 minutes for D2B time, and in the year of 2012 the median D2B time was 50 minutes at the Medical Center. This is due to the swift and calculated reactions and hard work of first responders, including Butler County EMS.

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Butler County EMS, as well as several other counties work with a system that allows them to transmit data directly to the care facility. Butler County EMS obtained and transported 12 EKG's to the Medical Center. If it's a STEMI patient, the Medical Center can receive vital patient information while the ambulance is en route and allows the hospital staff to prepare for the patient, reducing the D2B time substantially. 

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Story and photos by Jeremy Hack, BtN/WLBQ.