Nurses with Air Methods Kentucky helicopter service monitor a heart attack victim being transported to Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, KY.
A new program at Saint Joseph – Mount Sterling, Mount Sterling, KY, reduces the time it takes to diagnose and treat the most serious type of heart attack, known as a STEMI (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction). Through the CODE STEMI program, paramedics summoned to help a possible heart attack victim perform a rapid electrocardiogram (EKG) at the scene. The results are transmitted wirelessly to the Saint Joseph – Mount Sterling emergency department, where a physician reads them. If the physician confirms a STEMI, he or she can activate the cardiac catheterization team at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington, where the patient can be transported via helicopter. Prior to CODE STEMI, it was a challenge to quickly get rural heart attack victims to a hospital quipped with a cardiac catheterization lab. The program 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 provides 24/7 on-call interventional cardiologists for Saint Joseph Hospital’s cath labs.
