Vim & Vigor - Winter 2016 - Parrish Medical Center - 50

AT THE

OF BREVARD COUNTY

Innovative cardiovascular solutions at Parrish Medical Center

59-year-old male presents
with no pulse. Emergency
medical services have been
performing CPR for the
past 12 minutes with no response. His
heart has no electrical activity, a state
described as "clinically dead."
But thanks to physicians and the
cardiac catheterization team at Parrish
Medical Center (PMC), this patient
will go home to see loved ones again.
"People can collapse when they are
sitting at their desk, or cooking dinner,"
says Onercy Ramirez, RN, BSN, cardiovascular services manager at PMC in

Titusville. "They become unresponsive
and are rushed to the hospital. Nobody
thinks that it will happen to them, but
that's when it's our team's job to return
them to their family."

When the
Clock Is Ticking

Parrish Medical Center understands
that during a heart attack, time is of
the essence. That's why PMC's heart
emergency team's "time to treatment"
is 70 minutes or less, i.e., that within
70 minutes of arriving at the emergency
department, patients will receive a

cardiac catheterization in PMC's
state-of-the-art catheterization lab.
The national best-practice goal is
90 minutes; Parrish averages 47 minutes.
During a cardiac catheterization,
an interventional cardiologist uses
special X-rays to examine the heart's
blood vessels. A thin, hollow tube called
a catheter is used to inject dye into the
vessels so the cardiologist can see what's
happening inside the heart.
The catheterization lab, which opened
in 2008, performs cardiac catheterization, electrocardiograms, echocardiograms and cardiac stress tests to identify

PARRISH MEDICAL CENTER:

3 First in U.S. to receive integrated care certification by The Joint Commission, the nation's premier healthcare accrediting body. With
this certification, PMC introduced Parrish Healthcare, a regional integrated care network that includes Parrish Medical Center, a Mayo Clinic
Care Network member and one of the nation's most recognized hospitals for clinical quality, patient safety and healing environments; Parrish
Medical Group, certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a patient-centered medical home; and Florida Health Network, a
regional network of healthcare providers, insurers and others working collaboratively to improve quality and safety while lowering healthcare
costs on behalf of individuals, families and businesses.
3 Earned ninth straight "A" hospital safety rating from The Leapfrog Group in April 2016, making PMC one of 133 hospitals in the
nation-one of 15 in Florida, and the only one in Brevard Country-to have earned all A's.
3 Honored with the 2016 Women's Choice Award for being one of America's best stroke centers.
3 Recognized for healthcare quality by The SafeCare Group since 2015, which ranked PMC in the top 2 percent of U.S. hospitals for
best processes, outcomes and effective care.

W IN TER 2 0 1 6

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