Banner Heart Hospital first in the state to launch Cardiac Alert program

MESA, Ariz. (January, 2008) -- When you’re having chest pain, every minute counts. For Leland Anderson, those minutes didn’t stand a chance against the experienced medical team of emergency medical technicians and the staff at Banner Heart Hospital.

Less than an hour after he complained of chest pains in his Apache Junction home, Anderson was assessed with heart attack symptoms and immediately taken into procedural care in Banner Heart Hospital's cath lab.

The 57-year old patient was brought to Banner Heart Hospital on Monday, Jan. 28. In less than an hour, he was loaded into the ambulance, rushed to the hospital and on an operating table where a doctor implanted a balloon otherwise known as a stent to relieve his heart attack. Mr. Anderson became the first patient in Arizona to be a part of the Cardiac Alert program.

Modeled after other highly successful programs across the United States, the Banner Heart Hospital Cardiac Alert program was developed after eight months of collaboration among Banner Heart Hospital, the Arizona Department of Health Services, and Emergency Medical Services leadership in the East Valley including Mesa, Apache Junction and Gilbert. Here’s how it works:

• EMS paramedics get the ball rolling by identifying that a patient is having a heart attack,
• The paramedic than calls an Emergency Room doctor and Banner Heart Hospital's Acute Cardiac Transfer/Acceptance call line with all the necessary patient information,
• Banner Heart Hospital staff calls the Cardiac Alert which then activates Admitting to start the registration process,
• The patient shows up and is taken into surgery. 

Banner Heart Hospital Medical Director Mark Starling, MD, has been instrumental in getting the program started. He says, “Initiation of this process while the patient is still en route shortens door-to-balloon time and helps ensure heart attack patients receive treatment within the 90-minute window.” This window is a cardiac standard for exceptional care.

The Apache Junction Fire Department believes Banner Heart Hospital’s Cardiac Alert program is a model for exceptional response to heart attacks. Apache Junction Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief David Montgomery says, “The data is overwhelming to support the fact that the quicker we can get a cardiac patient to the closest appropriate facility, the better the chance that patient has to stop damage that a cardiac emergency can cause. I think Mr. Anderson’s case is a great example of the success we can expect for the future as well.”
 
About Banner Heart Hospital
Banner Heart Hospital is one of the largest free-standing heart hospitals in the nation and among Thomson Healthcare’s Top 100 hospitals for cardiovascular care. The 111-bed hospital offers a wide variety of cardiac services including advanced capabilities in cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, non-invasive cardiology, surgery, robotic surgery and vascular care. It is on the same campus as Banner Baywood Medical Center, a 332-bed facility, which recently added a seven story, 123-bed tower. Both facilities are part of nonprofit Banner Health, Arizona’s largest health care provider and second largest private employer.