LEWISTOWN HOSPITAL LAUNCHES NEW LIFENET® SYSTEM
New Web-based System from Physio-Control Will Help Improve Care for
Heart Attack Patients in the Juniata Valley
(December 3, 2009) LEWISTOWN, PA – Lewistown Hospital went live with the LIFENET system on November 23, 2009. This new system allows the Hospital’s Emergency Department to receive 12 lead EKG transmissions from Medic 29 EMS as well as other external EMS services such as FAME EMS and Port Royal EMS.
This process will provide improved quality of care to the patient by allowing early recognition and management of heart attacks. The project was a collaborative effort by Lewistown Hospital’s Medic 29, Management Information Systems (MIS), Cardiopulmonary, and Emergency Departments. Proceeds from the Hospital’s 2009 Golf Tournament were donated to the LIFENET system.
The newly implemented LIFENET System from Physio-Control is the first web-based system of its kind, this new solution has the goal of reducing door-to-treatment times for patients in the Juniata Valley who experience a dangerous form of heart attack known as STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction). STEMI poses a serious threat to the heart muscle, and the quicker patients receive treatment the more likely they are to have a positive outcome.
“The LIFENET System will help us reduce door-to-balloon times for STEMI patients,” said Edward Bzik, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Services at Lewistown Hospital. Studies show that time from onset of symptoms to treatment, usually stent placement or angioplasty, is critical to improving survival and outcomes for these patients. Having this new system will enable us to better meet the guideline of treatment in 90 minutes or less, as recommended by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.”
About the LIFENET System
The LIFENET System goes beyond just transmitting a 12-lead ECG to the hospital.. It helps manage care for STEMI patients by alerting care teams and transmitting diagnostic-quality ECGs via a secure web-based STEMI alert system to everyone involved in the patient’s care. The appropriate emergency department and/or cardiac catheterization (cath) lab can prepare for the patient’s arrival while the patient is being transported so D2B time is reduced and heart muscle can be saved. It prevents wasted time in the emergency room before treatment and helps avoid false cath lab activations.
The LIFENET System allows paramedics in the field and physicians and nurses in the hospital to focus on treatment decisions and patient care while the system works quietly and effortlessly in the background, both in the field and in the hospital’s emergency department or cath lab. The system uses the latest digital technology, which is fast and reliable.
The LIFENET System is helping communities elevate STEMI care to a whole new level with this new web-based solution that sets up community-wide STEMI-alert systems. The goal is to give care providers technology that saves D2B time, and ultimately more lives.
More about STEMI
The American Heart Association estimates that nearly 400,000 people in the U.S. experience STEMI every year. Studies have reported a significant relationship between pre-hospital 12-lead ECGs and shorter D2B times, with two recent studies showing the effect was strongest when the cath lab was activated while the patient was still en route to the hospital (Circulation, 2006). The Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2006) reported that mortality for acute cardiac events has been shown to increase 40 percent if D2B time stretches from 90 minutes to 120 minutes. It is critical that STEMI patients are taken to facilities with the ability to perform angioplasty and insert stents. However, fewer than 25 percent of hospitals can provide this treatment (Circulation, 2007).
About Physio-Control
Physio-Control, a division of Medtronic, is located in Redmond, Wash. Physio-Control pioneered defibrillation technology over 50 years ago. With more than 650,000 LIFEPAK defibrillator/monitors distributed worldwide, the company is the world’s leading provider of external defibrillator/monitors for the treatment of sudden cardiac and other cardio-respiratory emergencies. To find out more about Physio-Control, go to www.physio-control.com or call 1-800-442-1142.
