Citizens Memorial Hospital | Vitality | Fall 2018

citizensmemorial.com 3 CMH receives prestigious level 2 STEMI Center accreditation Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) and the CMH heart team have been recognized by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services as a level 2 STEMI Center. CMH is the only STEMI Center between Springfield and Kansas City to receive the distinguished accreditation. STEMI—which stands for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction— is a heart attack in which a blocked coronary artery prevents blood from getting to the heart muscle. A STEMI heart attack typically requires angioplasty for treatment, a procedure calling for insertion of a balloon in a blocked coronary artery followed by placement of a stent to keep the artery open and restore blood flow to the heart muscle. “Minimizing these patients’ time to treatment is a crucial factor in improving survival rates, and STEMI is a key factor,” says John Best, M.D., board certified interventional cardiologist at CMH. According to Dr. Best, the national recommendation is that angioplasty be performed within 90 minutes of the time the patient comes to the emergency department with symptoms of a STEMI. “CMH takes cardiac care excellence very seriously, so our average door-to-balloon time last year was less than half that recommendation,” Dr. Best says. “CMH performed well above the 90th percentile nationally per the American College of Cardiology’s ACTION registry.” Jenna Hicks, STEMI program manager at CMH, says that the new designation is an important accomplishment because “it empowers us to save lives and provide better access to rapid angioplasty treatment to residents. “CMH is proud to offer these state-of-the-art medical services with a technically advanced staff, which includes two board certified and fellowship-trained cardiologists,” says Hicks. “We know how to do this and do it well.” Cardiac care has expanded dramatically at CMH since the cardiovascular center and cath lab opened in 2004. Achievement of the STEMI Center accreditation was an intensive, four-year collaboration by hospital leaders, physicians, nurses and staff from CMH prehospital services and the emergency department, cath lab and intensive care unit. “Lives will be saved, outcomes improved and hundreds of patients will have more comfortable treatment with less time in the hospital thanks to these expanded services,” Hicks says. “We’re offering the highest level of cardiac care, close to home.” Citizens Memorial Hospital complies with applicable federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. CMH has arranged for language assistance services free of charge. Call 417-326-6000 . (Spanish) ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 417-326-6000 . (Chinese) 注意：如果您使用繁體中文，您可以免費獲得 語言援助服務。請致電 417-326-6000 . Call the CMH Heart Institute at 417-328-6040 . CMH NEWS