"When every minute counts during a heart attack, Union Hospital Clinton emerges as a beacon of hope. As one of the nation's top four hospitals excelling in expediting patient care, we're committed to delivering excellence in the critical moments that matter."
Powerful words spoken by Union Health Cardiologist Dr. George Bittar following Union Hospital Clinton being recognized ads the fourth fastest hospital in the nation for transferring patients to another facility for acute coronary intervention.
There are 1,353 critical access hospitals in the United States. Based on information collected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Becker's Hospital Review compiled data for patients who come to the hospital with heart attack or chest pain symptoms and the median time in minutes for patients to be transferred to another hospital for acute coronary intervention.
The top ten hospitals include:
1. Decatur County Memorial Hospital (Greensburg, Ind.): 20 minutes
2. Habersham County Medical Center (Demorest, Ga.): 23 minutes
3. Schneck Medical Center (Seymour, Ind.): 24 minutes
4. Union Hospital Clinton (Ind.): 26 minutes
5. Herrin (Ill.) Hospital: 27 minutes
6. Ascension Seton Highland Lakes (Burnet, Texas): 27 minutes
7. Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital (Lincoln, Ill.): 28 minutes
8. Homestead (Fla.) Hospital: 29 minutes
9. West Kendall Baptist Hospital (Miami): 29 minutes
10. Clark Regional Medical Center (Winchester, Ky.): 29 minutes
Union Hospital Clinton came in at 26 minutes with the top hospital, Decatur County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg, Indiana, at 20 minutes. In fact, out of the top five hospitals across the country, three of them are right here in the Hoosier state.
"This achievement demonstrates the intentional focus and dedication of the entire Union Hospital Clinton and cardiovascular care team at Union Health to ensure the best possible outcome for those suffering from a heart attack," Stephanie Laws, Vice President and Administrator of Union Hospital Clinton, said. "It isn't just one day that we come in and say, 'we're gonna put our best game forward today. We're gonna put our best hats on.' This is a precision. This is intentional. This is focused. This is digging deep to make sure that every patient who comes in with a heart attack has the best care that they could possibly receive."
On the flip side, Vermillion County ranks number one out of 92 counties in the state of Indiana when it comes to death rates related to heart disease.
"It is a very sobering fact and extremely sad news, but we have to do something about it," Dr. Bittar said. Therefore, what we do here in the Emergency Room when providing care for patients with heart attacks, does play a major role, but we still have a big, big task in the community at large. How can we prevent our patients from coming to our doors with a heart attack?
"It takes a village," Will Lohse, Chest Pain Coordinator at Union Hospital Clinton, said. "Every person at this hospital plays a role – even departments you wouldn't necessarily think of from dietary, housekeeping, maintenance – you name it, everyone gets education every single year about noticing signs and symptoms of potential heart attacks and most importantly, how do I get them help. It is a complete village inside that building and each part plays a vital role in getting the job done well and consistently."
Lohse says his team takes their job and training seriously because lives are at stake.
"To take care of STEMI patients well, you must have a strong culture across the board, and you must have consistency across the board. You can't wait for the STEMI patient to walk in, take care of them and expect to be good at it. You must take care of every single chest pain patient that walks into your door, the same way, treating as if they are a STEMI until they are ruled out.
A STEMI (ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction) is the most severe type of heart attack. A heart attack or myocardial infarction happens when an artery supplying blood to the heart suddenly becomes partially or completely blocked by a blood clot.
As a lifelong resident of Vermillion County and having worked her entire career at Union Hospital Clinton, Hillary Smith, BSN, RN, Nursing Care Manager, UHC Emergency Department, says its nice to be recognized with the accolades, but it's all about treating those in the community who need it the most.
"It is an honor for our team to be recognized for the exceptional care that we provide to our community when they present to our ER with acute cardiac issues," Smith said. "As a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in our area, we have long focused our efforts on maximizing the timely and efficient care we provide to our cardiac patients. Such acknowledgements of our efforts are quite graciously appreciated but seeing these same patients – who are our neighbors, friends or families - back out in our community, is truly why we do this."
If you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of a heart attack, it is critical to call 911 and seek emergency medical care immediately.