By Ryan T. Beckwith
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Copyright 2006 The News and Observer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Wake County’s emergency medical director was named the top in the country.
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, a national trade group, named Brent Myers director of the year for 2006 for starting two programs to improve care for heart-attack patients.
The first is for people who have had mild heart attacks.
Called “Fast Cath,” it allows paramedics to send an electro-cardiogram by cell phone to the nearest hospital so cardiac doctors can save a few minutes of preparation.
Myers, who was named Wake’s EMS director in 2002, estimated that helps one out of 15 patients avoid further complications.
The second program is for those suffering more serious heart attacks.
It allows paramedics to lower the victim’s body temperature by a few degrees by injecting a cold saline solution. The “induced hypothermia” helps prevent long-term brain damage.
“We can have people leave the hospital not only alive and with their blood pressure, but alive and with their blood pressure and talking to you,” Myers said.
Only three other emergency medical systems in the United States use the procedure.
Both programs were set up in partnership with Rex Hospital and WakeMed.