CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Every minute counts for first responders when they answer a call. A quick response from first responders and collaboration with hospital staff make a difference.
“It’s a determining factor whether somebody lives or somebody dies,” said James Reynolds, the Division Chief of EMS for Chesapeake Fire Department
That response is coordinated through several medical trainings like Thursday's STEMI (Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction) drill.
“We do a drill for a simulated heart attack patient all the way from the initial 911 call, to our treatment on scene,” Reynolds said.
On Thursday morning, Chesapeake first responders and staff at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center practiced that response with a mock heart attack patient.
“They will call into the charge nurse who carries a radio," said Jennifer Morrison, the emergency department nurse manager, at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center. "They will communicate what they have. They will send an EKG.”
Once the patient gets to the emergency room, staff are preparing them to head to the facility’s Cath lab where specialists test and monitor the heart. Jessica Powell, a registered cardiovascular invasive specialist, said her team has 30 minutes to respond.
“It’s called a guild catheter that we’ll engage to take pictures and see what’s going on," Powell said. "They’ll put a tiny wire down the vessel and take a balloon and open up the blockage to stop the heart attack.”
Every year, hospital staff and first responders perform this training, although it’s even more important this year as Chesapeake Regional Medical Center will soon start performing open heart surgeries.
“We’ve actually been trying to obtain our COPN since 2017 and we were granted the COPN just this year,” said Chesapeake Regional Medical Center Chief Operating and Nursing Officer Amber Egyud.
Egyud said this training keeps their partnership with first responders strong and prepares them for new hospital services to come.
“Part of everything that you have seen today of continuing to build a strong cardiac service line to be able to provide the best cardiac care for our community,” she said.
Egyud said staff will start performing open heart surgeries in January. Until then, she said patients will continue to be transferred to another facility in the region.