CODE STEMI Heart Attack Care

Parma Hospital’s heart attack care is second to none in its speed and efficiency. As a FOX8 I-team investigation revealed in November 2008, Parma Hospital’s times for door-to-balloon care – the time it takes to open a blocked artery in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, after the patient arrives in the Emergency Department – were the fastest of any hospital in Northeast Ohio. The quickest times were 15 and 16 minutes.

Emergency Department (ED) physicians can trigger a Code STEMI alert when patients present with elevated ST levels, segments that indicate a heart attack is in progress. Broadcast by the Hospital operator and communi­cated by pager, the alert activates a spe­cialized multidisciplinary team that assists the ED in rushing the patient to the Cath Lab. The team consists of physicians, nurses and technicians from ED, Cardiac Cath Lab, Cardiology, The Heart Center, Respiratory Therapy and the Lab.

The Code STEMI system has resulted in a dramatic improvement in door-to-balloon times that beats national and local expec­tations. While nationally 82 percent of these heart attack patients are treated within 90 minutes, according to guidelines of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association, 100 percent of Parma Hospital patients received such prompt care throughout the first half of 2008.

EMS is a key element of the team approach. The Emergency Medical Services of the hospital’s six founding communities – Parma, Parma Heights, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights, Seven Hills, and North Royalton – are equipped with 12-lead EKG machines and the ability to transmit readings electronically to the Hospital. This provides the ED physician with critical information necessary to alert the Cath Lab that a Code STEMI patient is en route.

Parma Hospital was invited to share its Code STEMI success rate with the Ohio Association for Healthcare Quality (OAHQ) and the ACC’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry. PCGH is officially a member of the ACC’s Door to Balloon (D2B): An Alliance for Quality, a quality improvement campaign designed to reduce door-to-balloon times.