Lake Regional Health System | Thrive | Fall 2018

lakeregional.com 7 Fast action restores blood flow Treatment for heart attack requires opening the blocked artery in a cardiac catheterization lab. A doctor threads a thin tube with a tiny bal- loon through blood vessels to the blockage. The balloon is then inflated to push plaque aside and restore blood flow. “Door-to-balloon” time measures the time between the patient’s arrival and the care team’s restoring blood flow. Nationwide, the median door-to- balloon time is 60 minutes. At Lake Regional in 2017 it was 43 minutes — a time better than 9 out of 10 U.S. hospitals . MORE THAN HEARTBURN Read the story of JoAnn Chapman, a 70-year-old heart attack patient flown to Lake Regional from Waynesville, at lakeregional.com/hereforyou . Making the most of critical minutes The Lake Regional Emergency Department team includes full-time emergency physicians and nursing staff trained in advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and trauma care. Lake Regional receives patients from seven ground ambulance services and an air ambulance based at the hospital that is owned and operated by Air Methods Corp. A CRITICAL HOUR Ian Heath, a husband and father from Nixa, received trauma care at Lake Regional following an ice storm crash on Feb. 10. Read his story at lakeregional.com/hereforyou . No time to waste with stroke The clot-busting medication tPA is a critical treatment for restoring blood flow and limiting brain damage. The amount of time that passes from a patient’s arrival at the hospital to delivery of tPA is known as “door-to- needle” time. The national average is 60 minutes. For the first six months of 2018, Lake Regional’s average door-to-needle time was 37.3 minutes. TIME IS BRAIN Visit lakeregional.com/hereforyou to read the story of David Anderson, a 77-year-old who credits his full recovery from stroke to the fast care he received at Lake Regional. Level II STEMI (Heart Attack) Center Level III Trauma Center Level II Stroke Center