Delays in Important Treatment?
Paramedics are supposed to take heart attack patients to the closest, medically appropriate, hospital. But, NBC7 Investigates found this is not always happening.
By Mari Payton
Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Delays-in-Important-Treatment-292806231.html#ixzz3SLf12YF6
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Updated at 7:26 AM PST on Friday, Feb 20, 2015
If you're having a heart attack, cardiologists say getting to the right hospital within 90 minutes is key for survival.
“If you are able
to open that artery within 90 minutes, the chances of that patient
having a good outcome is excellent,” interventional cardiologist Dr.
Vimal Nanavati said.
If you're having
the most serious kind of heart attack, called an ST elevation myocardial
infarction (STEMI), where your heart artery is completely blocked,
getting to a STEMI receiving center is critical.
“Every minute counts,” said Nanavati.
Thirteen San
Diego County hospitals have STEMI receiving centers with catheterization
labs that can unclog the blocked arteries in a patient's heart.
Robert Quittner
has been a paramedic for over 10 years with San Diego Rural/Metro. He
said a contractual agreement between two local hospitals is making him
question the profession he loves.
"We became paramedics to take care of people," he said. "We're delaying their care. We're causing more damage to the heart."
Quittner is
referring to a 30-year cardiovascular partnership between Kaiser
Hospital in Grantville and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla.
Kaiser Hospital
does not have a STEMI receiving center, so its STEMI patients are
transported to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla for treatment.
Seven of the
county's 13 STEMI receiving centers are closer to Kaiser Hospital than
Scripps La Jolla, including Scripps Mercy, Alvarado, Sharp Memorial and
UCSD Medical Center. Naval Medical Center is also included in the 13
facilities and has a STEMI receiving center...
Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Delays-in-Important-Treatment-292806231.html#ixzz3SLf9id4R
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