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Newsroom
Media Release
February 18, 2009
ATTENTION: NEWS / HEALTH / EDITORS
First patient thanks the Halton paramedics and Trillium cardiology team who treated him as part of the new Cardiac Regional Direct PPCI Program for STEMI patients
Mississauga/West Toronto - The first patient to benefit from a new partnership between Trillium Health Centre and Halton Region Emergency Medical Services (EMS) came back to the health centre today to thank the paramedics, doctors and nurses who added years – and quality – to his life after he suffered a heart attack on December 21, 2008.
John Hardiman (Jr.), a Milton resident, was the first patient to benefit from this new program. "It's a shock. I never thought I'd have a heart attack. There is no history of this in my family," said John Hardiman. "I am grateful this process is in place. As soon as I arrived, people started working on me. I'd like to thank them all, from the paramedics to the nurses and doctors."
The new protocol, designed to improve cardiac care services for patients in Halton Region, was launched on December 14, 2008 by Trillium and Halton Region EMS with the support of the Mississauga-Halton Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), the Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Pre-Hospital Care and Halton Healthcare Services.
When patients are diagnosed by Advanced Care Paramedics with a specific type of heart attack, called ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), they consult one of Trillium’s interventional cardiologists and bring the patient directly to the cardiac catheterization lab at Trillium for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) within 90 minutes. This new process bypasses the patient’s local hospital and Trillium’s Emergency.
The program has delivered impressive results so far. Eight patients were treated under the new program in December and January. The average time from a paramedic arriving at the patient’s side to a cardiologist restoring the flow of blood through the artery was 77 minutes - well below the 90 minute goal.
About STEMI and PPCI
Research has shown that patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) receive greater benefit from treatment with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) than from traditional thrombolytic (blood clot busting drugs) therapy. In short, patients have better outcomes when cardiologists use a balloon catheter and stent to open the blocked coronary artery instead of drugs that dissolve the clot blocking the artery.
How the program works
Based on this evidence, a new protocol has been established between Trillium Health Centre’s regional cardiac centre and Halton Region EMS who respond to cardiac calls from the Mississauga-Halton LHIN which includes the Town of Oakville, the Town of Halton Hills, and the Town of Milton. There is a separate protocol for responding to calls from the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant LHIN. Residents of the City of Burlington are taken to Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital where they are evaluated by a physician and transferred to Hamilton General Hospital, if necessary.
When a Halton Region EMS advanced care paramedic (ACP) identifies a patient with a heart attack that meets the STEMI protocol criteria, the ACP will consult with one of Trillium's four interventional cardiologists by telephone. Upon acceptance of the patient by the interventional cardiologist, the patient is transported directly to the cardiac cath lab at Trillium for PPCI, without stopping in the emergency department. The objective is for the patient to receive treatment at Trillium within 90 minutes from the initial diagnosis by the ACP, including transport and intervention time.
“These patients will receive the gold standard in cardiac intervention - and we expect Peel EMS and Toronto EMS to be part of our STEMI program in 2009. This underscores the importance of collaboration and partnerships among community health-care providers in offering the highest quality care," said Janet Davidson, O.C., president and CEO of Trillium Health Centre. "We would like to thank the Mississauga-Halton LHIN, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and Halton Region for their support of this successful partnership, along with a special thank you to our donors who helped to fund the cath labs."
Time is Muscle
When heart muscle doesn't receive blood and oxygen, it dies. It never repairs itself. Literally, every minute matters. With the new program, patients will have PPCI within 90 minutes of EMS arriving at the patient’s side. This quick access to best practice care is known to support the best outcomes.
"I feel very good – to be honest, you wouldn’t even know I had a heart attack, When I get up and walk for a while I get tired, it’s the only sign I had a heart attack," added Hardiman, a 42-year old roofer who is married with children, aged 20 and 14. "I have to praise you guys on the program – it worked for me! I’m happy that things went the way it did. I'm well on the road to recovery and looking forward to getting back to work in a couple months. My doctor is amazed."
"The goal is to have the patient in Trillium’s cath lab receiving treatment within 90 minutes of the first arrival of Halton’s EMS personnel," said Dr. Randy Watson, a Trillium cardiologist and co-lead of the STEMI program. "The evidence shows this time frame is crucial because time is muscle. Bringing patients directly into the cath lab makes all the difference to a speedy, successful recovery for most patients. The Trillium cardiology team has enjoyed working with the paramedics from Halton EMS on a program that will deliver positive results for many patients for years to come."
"The advanced care paramedics at Halton EMS are able to obtain and interpret an electrocardiogram (ECG) in the field, which helps shorten the time to treatment," said Greg Sage, Manager, Program Development and Quality Improvement, Halton EMS, and the co-lead for the STEMI program. "I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the staff at Trillium, our partners at Halton Healthcare Services, and our Medical Director Dr. Sheldon Cheskes as well as the staff at the Sunnybrook-Osler Centre for Pre-Hospital Care who provide medical oversight and paramedic education."
This is the first stage of the Regional Direct PPCI (STEMI) program. Trillium Health Centre is working to bring this program to the residents of Peel and West Toronto through partnership with Peel EMS, Toronto EMS and Regional Hospitals this year. It is estimated that this phase of the program will see approximately 50 patients from Halton annually.
About the Regional Municipality of Halton
The Regional Municipality of Halton serves more than 450,000 residents in the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, and the Town of Oakville. Halton Region is committed to meeting the needs of its residents through the delivery of cost-effective, quality programs and services, including water and wastewater; Regional roads and planning; emergency medical services; waste management; public health; Ontario Works (formerly social assistance); children’s and seniors’ services; social/non-profit housing; heritage programs; emergency management and business development.
For more information, dial 311 or visit Halton Region’s website at www.halton.ca.
About Trillium Health Centre
Trillium Health Centre is one of Canada’s largest hospitals with regional tertiary programs in advanced cardiac, vascular, stroke, neurosciences, orthopaedic, and sexual assault and domestic violence services. Housing a model ambulatory care centre and the largest free standing day surgery centre in North America, Trillium serves over one million residents in Peel and West Toronto and from other communities across Ontario. With the continued support of the Trillium Health Centre Foundation, the hospital’s fundraising arm, the two-site facility is attracting international attention for its innovative approach to providing safe, high quality health care services and has received numerous national awards for quality and innovation.
For more information on Trillium Health Centre, visit: www.trilliumhealthcentre.org.
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Media
Contacts:
Larry Roberts
Media Relations Consultant,
Trillium Health Centre
at
905.848.7580 ext. 3832 or
lroberts@thc.on.ca.
Jeff Crowder
Communications Specialist
Halton Region
905-825-6000, x7968
jeff.crowder@halton.ca