Jersey Shore Business Journal

March 05, 2008

Emergent heart care improves for county residents

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE -- Patients who come to the emergency room at Cape Regional Medical Center suffering from a heart attack now have a significant advantage in the fight against time. They have the Penn Heart Rescue Program. Cape Regional Medical Center has partnered with Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, a part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, in an innovative program designed to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to get the patient into the cardiac catheterization lab and to open the any blockages in the patient’s arteries.
When a patient comes to the Emergency Room at Cape Regional Medical Center seeking emergency medical services for chest pain, they are immediately evaluated to determine if they are having a heart attack. When EKG results confirm the diagnosis of ST elevation MI (STEMI heart attack), which is the most severe type of heart attack caused by complete blockage of a coronary artery, no time can be spared in treating the patient. A phone call by the Cape Regional Medical Center Emergency Department physician to the Penn Presbyterian’s cardiology department sets off a cascade of events that considerably increase the patient’s chance for survival.
Within approximately 30 minutes of that initial call, the patient is transported to Penn Presbyterian aboard the PennSTAR helicopter. Staffed by a flight nurse and flight paramedic trained in critical care, the patient continues to receive emergent care en route during this 25-minute helicopter ride. Within seconds of arrival at Penn Presbyterian, the patient is taken to the cardiac catheterization laboratory where a team of skilled healthcare professionals are waiting to evaluate and treat the patient. After treatment, the patient is discharged and returns home for follow-up care by their local physician.
“The goal of this trauma system approach to heart care is to open blocked arteries in the shortest amount of time possible,” stated John Buckwalter, RN, director of the Penn Heart Rescue Program at Penn Presbyterian.
“Cape Regional Medical Center’s partnership in heart care with Penn Presbyterian Medical Center will greatly improve outcomes for patients who suffer from this type of heart attack,” said Diana Stover, RN, vice president of clinical services at Cape Regional Medical Center. “This program has been proven to save lives and we believe this service will enable us to readily provide the most advanced cardiac care available to the residents of our community.”
Penn Presbyterian’s staff of cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nurses and technicians routinely utilize the most advanced technologies in cardiac care, and as a result, have become a regional referral center, particularly for the treatment of acute cardiac emergencies. The Penn Presbyterian expert cardiac care team is on hand 24 hours a day, seven days a week.