Paramedics Rushed to His Rescue

Sweaty, woozy and experiencing chest pain, Daniel Sachs knew something was wrong. The 78-year-old man dialed 9-1-1. In minutes, paramedic Jeff Phy and emergency medical technician (EMT) Anthony Ripa arrived at his home near Hazleton.

A new piece of equipment in their ambulance and education they received from Lehigh Valley Health Network’s Emergency Medicine Institute (EMI) ensured they were prepared to provide the best care. “We’re teaching EMTs to diagnose a heart attack in the field so patients get the care they need quickly,” says EMI program coordinator Alan Heckman.

The education is part of the health network's MI Alert for Heart Attacks program. Its goal is to open a patient’s blocked heart vessels within 90 minutes of arrival at the emergency room (ER).

In Sachs’ home, Phy and Ripa used a 12-lead EKG (electrocardiogram) to determine if he was having a heart attack. Formerly, patients wouldn’t receive this test until they arrived at the hospital. “EMI taught us to operate the 12-lead EKG, interpret the data and communicate our findings to a physician,” Phy says.

Suspecting a heart attack, they radioed Hazleton General Hospital (HGH), Lehigh Valley Health Network’s heart attack care partner. The ED physician there agreed with the diagnosis and activated an Alert.

With the Alert initiated, several things happened simultaneously. Phy and Ripa began treatment and rushed Sachs to HGH; a MedEvac helicopter was dispatched to transport him to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest; and our cardiac catheterization lab was prepped for his arrival. “When everything happens at once, valuable minutes are saved,” says MI Alert coordinator Steve Palmer, R.N.

Only 78 minutes after the Alert was initiated in a community an hour’s drive away, Sachs’ blocked artery was repaired. He offers good advice to people having chest pain. “Call 9-1-1 to get to the hospital in a hurry,” he says.