April 30, 2010
MEDICAL CITY HOSPITAL PARTNERS WITH DALLAS FIRE-RESCUE TO OUTFIT FIRST MOBILE UNITS IN DALLAS COUNTY WITH AVANCED EKG TECHNOLOGY
Partnership Makes City of Dallas Second-Largest U.S. City Equipped With the Technology, Medical City is First and Only Receiving Hospital in Dallas County

A partnership announced today between Medical City Hospital and Dallas Fire-Rescue (DFR) now provides Dallas residents with the benefit of potential life-saving technology, as Medical City recently helped outfit all DFR rescue units with the state-of-the-art LIFENET STEMI Management Solution cardiac alert devices.

The LIFENET device, a unique combination of web, broadband and medical technology, will drastically reduce the time it takes for a heart attack patient to receive the life-saving angioplasty procedure that gets their blood flowing again.  This significant upgrade in technology could help save the lives of patients experiencing STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction), a dangerous form of heart attack that impedes or blocks blood flow to the heart.

The partnership makes Dallas the second-largest city in the United States whose primary 911 agency is outfitted with the LIFENET system.  Medical City also will be the first and only hospital in Dallas County capable of receiving patients connected to the LIFENET system.

All paramedics with DFR's Emergency Medical Services system are trained to recognize these particular electrocardiogram (EKG) strips and identify markers within those strips that warrant the use of the STEMI software.  In conjunction, all 45 DFR rescue units as well as two Advanced Life Support (ALS) vehicles will carry the monitors that will support the transmission of this life saving data.

"Our investment associated with providing this technology pales in comparison to the advantage that Dallas Fire-Rescue emergency personnel and Medical City physicians now have when diagnosing and treating heart attack patients," said Erol Akdamar, president and chief executive officer of Medical City.  "We saw a need that we believed we could fill and we are honored to be able to support Dallas Fire-Rescue and serve our community in this way."

"The technology in itself is remarkable." said DFR's deputy chief of the EMS Response Bureau, Bobby D. Ross, "but even more remarkable is that it puts us at the cutting edge of pre-hospital cardiac care."

Because STEMI affects one or more of the arteries that carry blood to the heart, it poses a serious threat to the heart muscle.  Studies show that time from the onset of STEMI to treatment at the hospital is critical for improving survival and outcomes for these patients.

With the LIFENET system, Medical City will be able to make treatment decisions while the patient is still in transport ensuring that Medical City care teams will continue meeting and eventually surpass the guidelines for treatment in 90 minutes or less, as recommended by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

"When it comes to heart attacks, lost time can mean lost heart muscle," said Dr. Matthew Bush, medical director of emergency services at Medical City.  "Anything we can do to accelerate how we diagnose and receive information on incoming patients helps us fight against the damage that lost time can cause in these cases."

"This technology benefits the citizens of our community and will save lives," said Eric Eichhom, interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Dallas Heart Group at Medical City.  "It was the right thing to do for our community and will make a difference in outcomes as patients will be treated 20 to 30 minutes sooner."