‘Time is muscle’

SAMC Task Force improves heart attack treatment speed

When it comes to your health, Saint Anthony Medical Center gets to the heart of the matter
– and fast.

A report in the New England Journal of Medicine, based on a Yale University study, concluded that each 15-minute reduction from 150 to 90 minutes between the time a heart attack patient arrives until he or she is treated, was associated with 6.3 fewer deaths per 1,000 patients treated.

As Dr. Daniel Netluch, Saint Anthony chief of emergency services puts it, “Time is muscle.’’
Saint Anthony meets a 90-minute Door-to-PCI (emergency department arrival to percutaneous coronary intervention) time of 90 minutes or less that was developed by the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The procedure establishes or improves blood flow to the heart. The faster that task is achieved after the patient’s arrival, the better the chances of recovery. The risk for complications likewise is reduced. “The faster we can treat such cases, the less damage there is to the heart muscle. Also, there are fewer long-term issues,’’ adds Elaine McCracken, Saint Anthony Medical Center assistant vice president of operational quality and performance.

Saint Anthony has achieved a 100 percent Door-to-PCI compliance rate most months since establishment of a 14-member Lean Six Sigma Performance Improvement Team. The national average is 40 percent, according to the American Heart Association.

Members of the team, called the STEMI (heart attack) Task Force, implemented initiatives in April to improve the hospital’s performance. The 100 percent rate represents a 27 percent improvement in the hospital’s Door-to-PCI time.

Karin Kolisz, Saint Anthony vice president of clinical services, who is a member of the task force, as is McCracken, says teamwork is the reason for the program’s progress.

“Our success can be attributed to the extraordinary collaboration of our front-line staff in the Emergency Department, Catheterization Lab and EMS, including physicians, shift directors, nurses and technologists. “Recognizing that the earlier coronary intervention is provided, the fewer the number of patients who will lose their lives, our staff worked diligently to make the changes necessary to assure rapid treatment. Our staff was motivated not by national benchmarks, but rather by improving patient outcomes,’’ Kolisz said.