Trinity Health Foundation is implementing the North Dakota Cardiac Support Initiative to bring LIFENET equipment to 21 ambulance services, one tertiary hospital, seven critical access hospitals and nine clinics across northwestern and north central North Dakota.
The initiative received its first big boost Wednesday when the Otto Bremer Foundation provided $250,000 towards the $1.1 million initiative.
"One of the main focuses of the Otto Bremer Foundation is rural health. Our average grant size is $30,000. This amount shows the foundation is really behind this project," said Brent Mattson, president of Bremer Bank in Minot.
By using LIFENET equipment, medical teams can begin the analysis of a patient's cardiac condition immediately after first responders arrive. LIFENET is a web-based system that transmits 12-lead EKG data across a cellular system to a hospital's emergency department to give quick confirmation of a heart attack.
In a cardiac event, first responders hook up a LIFENET cardiac defibrillator and monitor to the patient, press a "send" button, and EKG data is transmitted to the nearest trauma center.
From that data, a trauma physician can determine a patient's cardiac condition and have the cardiac catheterization lab and cardiologist ready for the patient upon arrival.
"It changes the way we're diagnosing these things dramatically in the field. By an ambulance getting this equipment, we are able to know when the patient is at home or on their way to a local hospital, that they need to get to the cath lab," said Dr. Jeffrey Sather, medical director of Trinity Health's Emergency and Trauma Center.
With LIFENET, emergency physicians and cardiologists are able to reduce the "door-to-balloon" time for a patient by 20 to 44 minutes. The "door-to-balloon" time refers to the time it takes to get a patient in the door, assessed, and the blocked artery opened with angioplasty.
"When an artery is blocked and heart muscle is dying, you need to get that artery opened up and the blood flowing again to save heart muscle," Sather said.
When more heart muscle is saved during a cardiac event, Sather explained, more patients are able to continue with their jobs and lives without being as severely affected by cardiac problems, and more lives can be saved.
Trinity Health Foundation hopes to have the entire $1.1 million to completely implement the North Dakota Cardiac Support Initiative by December of 2011.
The health-care facilities involved in the project include Trinity Health, Mercy Medical Center in Williston, McKenzie County Hospital in Watford City, Kenmare Community Hospital, St. Andrews Health Center in Bottineau, Presentation Medical Center in Rolla, Heart of America Medical Center in Rugby, and Towner County Medical Center in Cando.
Ambulance services involved in the project include Community Ambulance Service of Minot and ambulance services in Grenora, Tioga, Williston, Watford City, Powers Lake, New Town, Parshall, Mohall, Kenmare, Berthold, Ryder/Makoti, Westhope, Lansford, Glenburn, Velva, Rolla, Cando, Rock Lake, Leeds and Tolley.
