And the Emergency Chain that Saved Him. - St. Joseph Medical ...

thomas thibeault
“This whole experience
has given me a much greater
appreciation for how incredible
medical care can be.”
Women’s Care
“When he awoke, he had an immediate sense of well being,”
says his mother.
“This whole experience has given me a much greater appreciation
for how incredible medical care can be,” says Thomas.
“Dr. Finney is a great doctor —he saved my life. The staff
at St. Joseph really cared for me as a person and for
the well-being of my family.”
Although Thomas will be on blood thinners
for life, he says, “I feel very lucky to have
survived a physical defect that no one knew
about. The mechanical valve I have is very
strong.” Just three months after heart surgery,
he was assisting coaching lacrosse at his
former high school, Boys Latin.
“Thomas has shown a lot of maturity and
grace through all this,” says Dr. Finney, a former
lacrosse player himself.
Innovators in Emergency Care
Recently, St. Joseph embarked on a campaign to highlight
the hospital’s innovation in ER care, “which has resulted in
decreasing treatment time by 25 percent,” explains Dr. Gail
Cunningham, head of St. Joseph’s Emergency Department. By
increasing efficiency and enhancing patient care, St. Joseph’s
ER won the “Top Innovator of the Year Award” in 2009 from
the Daily Record.
“It’s a credit
to St. Joseph’s ER,
cardiac surgery team
and intensive care unit
that we can handle
this type of grave
situation.”
Dr. Stewart Finney
chief of Cardiac
Surgery
Innovation is a St. Joseph tradition: its ER has the longest
standing group of emergency physicians in the U.S., who founded
one of the first ERs in the country in 1966. “We are always striving
to improve the care we give,” assures Dr. Cunningham.
“We have quality, experienced, specifically trained
ER physicians and nurses. We are in a unique environment,
working shoulder to shoulder daily, and
know each other so well that we can anticipate
how care is going for each patient.
“A lot of care is initiated even before the
patient sees the doctor. We are very motivated,
getting their tests started, blood work,
x-rays or CT scans and even the administration
of certain medicines done as soon as we
can,” she says.
St. Joseph’s ER is a vital partner in the Chain
of Survival advocated by the American Heart
Association. (See illustration below.)
“It begins with the lay person doing CPR and calling
9-1-1,” says Captain Steven Adelsburger of Baltimore County EMS.
“Then EMS does their part; we treat and stabilize at the scene of
the emergency and deliver the patient to the ER where the cardiac
team is waiting. With our LifeNet system, we even transmit
a picture of the patient’s heart to the ER, so the team is a couple
steps ahead before the patient arrives. We have great confidence
in the cardiac care at St. Joseph Medical Center.”
Step 4
Early advanced care
Qualified paramedics/healthcare
providers respond to cardiac
arrests with Advanced Cardiac
Life Support standards.
Step 5
ER & Cardiac Teams
Patient arrives by ambulance at the
Emergency Room, where emergency
doctors and nurses are waiting, plus
a cardiac team is prepared.
survivor.
“If any of the links in the chain
are broken, the chances for survival
and a successful outcome are
significantly diminished.”
Captain Steven Adelsburger
EMS Shift Commander, Baltimore County
St. Joseph Medical Center / StJosephTowson.com