Immediate ReleaseCon

Immediate Release                              Contact:  Linda Kilbride
February 6, 2006                              541-574-4745


Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital celebrates American Heart Month
With Launch of New Equipment

Beginning Monday (2/13) during American Heart Month, Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital (SPCH) will make an exiting new technology available in the more rural areas of Lincoln County. When called to attend a victim of cardiac arrest due to heart attack or other causes, emergency responders (EMTs) will now be equipped with new automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) equipment. The new equipment enables the EMT to provide a patient suffering from cardiac arrest (stoppage of the heart beat) to have the best chance for survival. The device was featured on ABC’s World News Tonight in December of 2005.

These Zoll-Revivant AutoPulse devices have been made available through generous grant funding from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund/Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde ($25,000), The Governor John A. Kitzhaber Community Hospital Grant Program ($1,100), the Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund ($12,500), and the Pacific Communities Health District Foundation Cardiac Fund (4,000).

These first three AutoPulse units will be carried by first responders from Toledo Rural Fire Protection District, the North Lincoln Fire & Rescue District at the North Station and at the Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue District in Waldport. This geographic spread will provide transport assistance on Highways 101, 18, 20 and 229. Additional support is being sought to purchase a unit for the Siletz Rural Fire Protection District.

In the past two years SPCH has helped catalyze the Cardiac Performance Improvement Program for Lincoln County. High quality cardiac care is a signature service of Samaritan Health Services. With an aging, rural population, mortality resulting from heart disease in the county is more than 25% higher than the state average over the past five years. Heart disease is a major concern in Lincoln County.

Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital, Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital and Cardiac Consultants of Corvallis are working together to address challenges posed by Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in the county.  A number of factors were tracked for a two- year period with the time delay from initial event onset (ACS) to arrival at the hospital for care being scored the number one priority.

This program identified ways to maximize resources currently available and also designated equipment and approaches that could significantly impact emergency intervention procedures to reduce the severity of ACS. New strategies and protocols have greatly improved the transport time.

This program has garnered national recognition and is establishing new quality standards for rural hospital care and outreach, made up of preventative education and emergency response factors. Melissa Swancutt, RN at SPCH and a member of the study team, presented the program to the national Rural Health Governing Council last year.

“The American Heart Association stresses that a strong ‘Chain of Survival’ can improve chances of survival and recovery for victims of heart attack, stroke, and other emergencies.  There are 4 major links in that chain:  The first link is Early Access – recognizing an emergency and calling 911.  The second link is Early and Effective CPR.  The AutoPulse offers exciting technology for effective CPR.  Our current EMS providers in the outlying areas of the county sometimes have to perform manual CPR for up to (or even in excess of) an hour.  The AutoPulse provides efficient and highly effective CPR – and it doesn’t get tired.  The third link is early defibrillation – an arm of project and a keen interest for the Cardiovascular Consultants group.  The fourth link is early advanced care; the part of the Cardiac Performance Improvement project we began with.”

We know that as a patient is transported to either the Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital or Samaritan North Lincoln Hospital many entities may be involved. This training will prepare personnel at each involved entity to be trained personally or to receive training from one of your assigned trainers.

Training on the AutoPulse throughout the county the week of February 13. Those attending are employees and volunteers with the three recipient fire departments, Newport Fire, Siletz Fire, the SPCH Emergency Department, SNLH Emergency Department, and Pacific West Ambulance.

For more information, please call the PCHD Foundation at 574-1810.



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