According to a story in the New York Times, dated 12/04/08, starting on Jan. 1, New York City ambulances will take many cardiac arrest patients only to hospitals that use a delicate cooling therapy believed to reduce the chances of brain damage and increase the chances of survival, even if it means bypassing closer emergency rooms.
The move was made by the city’s Fire Department and Emergency Medical Service.
The move reflects an emerging view within that agency that the the type of treatment that cardiac arrest patients receive may be more important than how quickly they arrive and are treated at the ER.
According to the Times, since the Fire Department sent letters to hospital chief executives this week informing them of the impending change, about 20 of the 59 hospitals with emergency rooms have said they will have cooling operations ready by the Jan. 1 deadline.
Other cities with similiar policies to New York include: Seattle, Boston, Miami, Vienna and London.
According to the Times article, "the city has set no requirements for the kind of cooling techniques hospitals must use — some may start with inexpensive saline solutions and plastic bags filled with ice, while others employ sophisticated equipment manufactured and aggressively promoted by companies like Alsius, Innercool Therapies and Medivance."
Hospitals cited in the Times article that are currently practice therapeutic hypothermia include: NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, Bellevue Hospital Center and St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan, Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and Staten Island University Hospital.
For Cardiology Design see, http://bernarch.com/healthcare-design-cardiology/
For more information, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/nyregion/04cool.html?_r=1&hp
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