EIRMC receives 3 awards recognizing superior stroke and heart attack care

The American Heart Association Award recognizes Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center commitment to quality stroke care.

According to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of adult disability in the United States. On average, someone in the U.S. suffers a stroke every 40 seconds and nearly 795,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year.

The phrase “time lost is brain lost” is accurate, given that the longer it takes a stroke patient to receive appropriate intervention and care, the more brain tissue dies. Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, the only Joint Commission- accredited Primary Stroke Center in southeast Idaho, has earned another accolade for fast stroke care: The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines® Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

This recognizes the hospital’s commitment that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines gleaned from the latest scientific evidence. This includes evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients.

EIRMC employs many interventions to treat stroke patients. Clot-melting medication called tPA is available, as well as interventional treatments such as mechanical thrombectomy to physically remove the clot.

Secondly, The American Heart Association has awarded EIRMC the Mission: Lifeline® Gold Plus Receiving Quality Achievement Award for efforts to reduce barriers that impede prompt treatment for heart attacks, beginning with the 9-1-1 call, to EMS transport and continuing through hospital treatment and discharge.

Every year, more than 250,000 people experience the deadliest type of heart attack: ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It’s caused by a sudden complete blockage of blood flow to the heart that requires timely treatment. To prevent death, it’s critical to restore blood flow as quickly as possible, either by mechanically opening the blocked vessel (a heart stent) or by providing clot-busting medication.

EIRMC earned the award by meeting criteria and standards of performance for quick and appropriate treatment through emergency procedures to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries in heart attack patients coming into the hospital directly or by transfer from another facility.

Third, EIRMC received the Mission: Lifeline Bronze Certificate for the quick appropriate treatment of NSTEMI heart attack patients. “NSTEMI” or”non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction” is a heart attack caused by a severely narrowed- but usually not completely blocked- artery.

“These recognitions are the culmination of a massive joint effort involving physicians, nurses, EMS providers and patients themselves to provide optimal care for stroke and heart attack patients,” said Cheri Arnold, Stroke Coordinator at EIRMC. “We are proud to be recognized for this work because we know it’s the right thing to do to save lives.”