Mercy Medical Center honors local EMS

Monday, August 19, 2019

Tags: Mercy Medical Center , health care

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Mercy Medical Center recently hosted its annual appreciation event for local emergency medical squads (EMS). Mercy sponsors this event to recognize EMS personnel for their lifesaving efforts throughout the year.
 
The guest speaker was Anthony Brewer M.D., Mercy Emergency Department physician and EMS Medical Director. Dr. Brewer’s presentation, What Happened After You Left, was based on an in-depth case study of patients brought into the emergency department with unusual diagnoses.

As part of the evening’s activities, Mercy Emergency Chest Pain Center (ECPC) presented its STEMI (St Elevation Myocardial Infarction) Cup award to Green Fire Department for achieving the best “door to balloon” (D2B) angioplasty time for the first half of 2019. Green Fire Department members Virgil Schlabach, assistant chief; Drew Marchand, paramedic; Vincent DeLuca, paramedic; Randy Porter, lieutenant/EMS Burea, received the award for their role in the “door to balloon” (D2B) time of seven minutes.

D2B is the length of time it takes from the moment EMS first bring the patient through the doors of Mercy’s Emergency Department to the time they are able to open the patient’s artery, stopping the heart attack. A key to a heart attack patient’s survival is getting them into a cath lab as quickly as possible to open the blocked artery, and, thanks to Mercy’s Cardiac Cath Lab located directly inside the doors of the Emergency Department, our hospital has been able to stop heart attacks in a world record time of five minutes.

Drs. Ahmed Sabe and Frank Kaeberlein, co-directors of the ECPC, established the STEMI Cup award to recognize the dedication and quick responsiveness of local EMS. This award also honors the advancements that Mercy’s team of ED and Cardiac Cath Lab nurses, technologists and doctors have made in cardiac care. “Due to having a Cardiac Cath Lab placed directly in our Emergency Department, just steps away from the ambulance entrance, our treatment times for heart attack patients speak for themselves,” said Dr. Ahmed Sabe, president, The Heart Hospital at Mercy Medical Center. “Our ability to stop heart attacks in world record times is unheard of. This is due to exceptional coordination between our Mercy Emergency Department and Cardiac Cath Lab staff, our team of cardiologists and our local EMS. In combining these elements, heart attack patients have a better chance for survival and faster recovery time for cardiac-related emergencies.”

Mercy Medical Center is a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System.

Pictured during the STEMI Cup presentation are (L to R) Virgil Schlabach, assistant chief; Drew Marchand, paramedic; Vincent DeLuca, paramedic; Randy Porter, lieutenant/EMS Bureau. Not pictured: Dave Montgomery, paramedic.